BROOKFIELD, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A woman from the western suburbs is bringing attention to the more than 50 million people in the U.S. who spend their time caring for others.
Beatrice Alvarez of Brookfield is the full-time caregiver to her teenage son with Down Syndrome and Autism, her elderly mother with dementia, and her elderly father who has battled a gallbladder infection and sepsis.
She was recently honored as a "Caregiver of the Year" by a company called Carewell that sells products for homecare. She told WBBM the financial assistance from the award and from the government are vital.
"That part has been a little bit of swallowing your pride, because I've been able to do it on my own for so long."
Bianca Padilla is CEO and Founder of Carewell, and told WBBM the financial burdens of caregiving can be daunting.
"In terms of home healthcare products, safety equipment, all of that, the vast majority of it, I believe it's like 70%...is out of pocket....AARP releases a study, I think it's every year, they show that caregivers are (paying) $7,000 out of their own pocket," she said.
"This is outside of any social security income and things like that."
Alvarez recommends reaching out to the Department of Aging and other groups like Meals on Wheels for help and said some people might actually qualify to be paid as caregivers for their loved ones.
Padilla said so much more must be done.
"Every single state and every single community has their own programs, so you have to do so much research. You have to apply for so many different grants and so few of the times you actually get it that it ends up being another full-time job," she explained.
"So I think part of what the government can do is create some federal task force, so that there's just one place that all of us can go to to seek help, to seek information, to seek the funding options that are available, because right now it's really confusing and it's super localized and fragmented."
Alvarez said especially when caring for older people in the end it comes down to love, dignity, acceptance, and preparation.
"Ultimately there is still some joy in mom even though she doesn't recognize me most of the time. She still has her sense of humor, she still is able to feed herself. There's still those small amounts of joy that you get from all of this, and I don't know how you measure that."
She said it's important to honor the wishes of loved ones when their time comes and she advised that they prepare everything ahead of time in regards to all the documentation, the power of attorney, the power of health, and know what their wishes are in how they want to die.
"That's part of the life cycle. I'm at peace with that, but just understanding before you get to a cognitive decline like my mother, what is her wishes? Understanding what it is she wants."
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