30 Resources to Find Help and Support When Caregiving for Aging Parents

November is National Family Caregivers Month.Being a caregiver for aging parents is an important but overwhelming role. Every situation is different, but you don’t have to navigate the responsibilities of care alone. Where to start “People should begin planning as early as possible,” explained Cory Fosco, retired social worker with 34 years in long-term care and author of The Question of When. “Many people wait until someone falls, gets hospitalized,or can't manage medications anymore. By then, options shrink and costs climb.” Socioeconomic differences play a role, too: “The broader issue is that lower income families tend to reach a crisis point sooner than higher income families,” said Evan H. Farr, a certified elder law attorney. To counteract crisis, plug into these resources: Start with the Eldercare Locator, a public service providing a searchable database of resources.Contact your local Area Agency on Aging, “The single best free resource in the country,” according to Fosco, these agencies can help navigate a caregiving crisis. Family Caregiver Alliance provides a HelpHub with a wide range of resources to help with planning. Family Caregiver Services by State is a tool to lo...