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Courses Offer Caregivers
Some Support
By Saul Friedman, Newsday
November 20, 2004
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I don't think I would have made it through those early days after my
stroke without a major bout of depression had it not been for the
caregivers - my daughters, neighbors, friends and, mainly, my wife.
After the security of the hospital, coming home was intimidating, for I
was unable to get out of bed at night or dress myself in the morning. But
Evelyn, my wife, called in workers to make the house safer for my unsteady
legs. And she was there at all hours, my cook, chauffeur and nurse,
watching my therapy, celebrating my progress and making sure I was
presentable. Even now, when I can walk and manage for myself, I need help
with my socks.
Nevertheless, my disability is moderate. And writing Gray Matters had
given me some knowledge of the insurance and Medicare maze. So I only
glimpsed what life must be like for millions of men and women who provide
constant care for sick, elderly or disabled loved ones. They need more
help than government gives them.
That brings me to Dorot, a remarkable, nonprofit agency born on
Manhattan's Upper West Side in 1976, when a group of Columbia University
graduate students reached out to visit, comfort, bring meals to or light
Sabbath candles for the mostly Jewish homebound elderly in the
neighborhood.
Dorot is the Hebrew word for "generations." And since its
founding, its corps of volunteers has grown to 8,000 adults and children
who cross the generations to visit and see to the needs of thousands of
shut-in and homeless elderly throughout metropolitan New York.
Those visits can provide some respite for full-time caregivers.
Dorot's latest effort to help bridge the generations is its
"Caregivers' Connection," an unusual way of putting caregivers
in touch with each other and with experts, to get support and information
on how best to care for their sick or disabled elderly loved ones. The
right resource and phone number can make a real difference. And the
connection to help is available, by telephone, without having to leave
one's home or office.
The weekly classes and discussions, each 50 minutes long, include
"Coping With Care- giver Stress," "Caring for a
Parent," "Caregiver Resources on the Internet" and a
"Lunch-Hour Support Group," to exchange ideas and frustrations.
Of special value starting next month is a class on the confusing new
Medicare law.
Some courses have been un- derway for weeks, but program director Lori
Friedman-Rubin said they will be repeated; Caregivers' Connection is a
year- round service. There's a one- time $10 registration fee, plus $15
for a 6- to 10-week course; single-session workshops are free.
Dorot also conducts the "University Without Walls," a unique
learning resource that serves homebound callers from metropolitan New York
and Florida. The one-time registration fee is $10, and the cost of the
classes, which run 50 minutes and meet for 3 to 14 weeks, is $15. There is
no charge for the telephone conference call for the University or the
Caregivers' Connection because Dorot makes the call.
The classes can be a welcome and rewarding relief from boredom on a wintry
day. The 32- page catalog includes classes on international news,
especially relevant now. Eight Friday afternoon discussions will be
devoted to "The Age of Theodore Roosevelt" and four Thursday
classes are scheduled on "Blacks, Jews and Civil Rights."
Courses also are offered on music, history, literature, comedy and classic
movies (the videos are furnished). The classes, of six or eight people,
offer new friendships and a chance to talk to another adult.
To learn more about Dorot and its programs and courses, visit
www.dorotusa.org. You may register online for its telephone programs or
call 877-819- 9147, or write to Dorot, 171 W. 85th St., New York, NY
10024.
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