John,

As a millennial caregiver with chronic illnesses, it was already difficult for me to balance my full-time job with care for my parents. But everything got so much worse during the pandemic. Both of my parents got COVID-19, and I left the workforce to take care of them.

The Caring Across Generations Care Fellowship program has given me a space where I know that I’m not alone, and a place where I can fight alongside others like me to call for the supports that we all need.

Will you chip in today to support Caring Across and programs like the Care Fellowship, so they can help even more caregivers like me advocate for ourselves next year? [[link removed]]

The mounting stress that the pandemic has put on caregivers like me is damaging to our mental and physical health. It’s so essential that caregivers have support and access to resources now, and into the future.

Before COVID-19, I wouldn’t say I was “balancing” work and care, but I was making it work. I used up all of my sick and vacation days, and took unpaid leave to care for my parents. It was hard to find help, but when my dad’s health took a turn for the worse in 2018, we brought in a home health aide for 10 hours a week, which made a huge difference for us.

But when my parents contracted COVID-19, my father had to stay in the hospital for 52 days, and got kicked out of the program that provided him with an aide on a technicality. I couldn’t work while I took care of him.

This entire experience has been very traumatic. COVID-19 has only increased the number of caregivers and individuals with chronic health issues, and our nation is woefully unprepared.

I fear that, once we are on the other side of the pandemic, chronically ill and disabled caregivers, like myself, will be forgotten. We can’t go on like this. We need support to navigate the complex and piecemeal systems of care in this country, and we need better systems that don’t further complicate our lives.

There are just two weeks left to make a gift in 2021. The generosity of your gifts helps support programs like the Care Fellowship and caregivers like me. To help Caring Across find and empower folks like me, will you make a gift of $10 or more today?

Donate today. [[link removed]]

With care,

Nureena Faruqi, Care Fellow
Caring Across Generations

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