“Taking Care of You has the mission of giving support and visibility to all Caregivers, providing them with health and well-being to improve their quality of life.”
Meeting with Dr. Sara about Cuidando de Ti.
Website: https://cuidandodetiasoc.com/
What if I told you you can have access to an array of resources by text? Would you believe it? I would not until I met Sara Suarez and her group Cuidando de Ti. I was deeply moved by her work and the array of resources she has provided families.
They believe that it is vital to take care of the caregiver and they focus on supporting family caregivers. They empower and give necessary tools to the caregiver to care for themselves and know how to care for their loved ones as well.
Once you become a member you have access to an array of resources that I found very helpful. In fact, not only are you able to get trained by them to provide care but you are also able to have a caregiver fill in your place when you need a little break or self-care moment that was trained by their team. Therefore, you feel more comfortable having your loved one with a person you might not know but can trust that they got the proper training. Additionally, if you ever have any questions or concerns you can text or email them and they will respond. This for me is so important as throughout my care journey I never knew who I could ask for help.
They are a small organization but have set high goals for itself to better the community around them. Once someone receives a dementia diagnosis at the hospital, the hospital fails to provide adequate resources at times. Therefore, programs like Cuidando De Ti are crucial in helping bridge the gap between getting educational resources and a support team. Additionally, in educating families on how to care in the home and what modifications can be done to improve the environment for themselves and their loved ones. We must work together to ensure our loved ones can stay at home for as long as possible.
Every month they have events for all their members free of charge. They have three certain sections on self-care, formations, and family spaces. It is important to host such spaces in order to ensure people are able to reach out to one another and share experiences amongst family. This builds community support and now allows them to help one another. Additionally, I think the importance of educating oneself is so important to ensure burnout doesn’t occur. They cover important topics such as end-of-life care that are at times not properly explained to family members and these conversations provide useful information to them.
It was an honor to talk to Sara and think about how we are creating certain spaces like these within our communities. This is something for example, that back in Costa Rica, Jorge Vindas is hoping to create for the centenarians. We need people who are willing and able to be leaders within their communities to start this ripple effect.
Together we can take care of one another and create this extended community of family just as Sara Suarez has done with her organization to support those communities in Spain.
Muchas gracias Sara por compartir tiempo conmigo y recursos!
