Funding for Respite Care in Illinois, Has Disappeared

I have spent several weeks attempting to clarify the new policies and procedures around respite care—additional help with caregiving-- in Chicago.

I have spoken with the Chicago Department of Senior Services, Illinois Department on Aging, and our local agency, the Healthcare Consortium.

Primarily, what I have encountered is that I get transferred to a black hole of voicemail. I have left countless messages with these agencies requesting help for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as I always have in the past. No one returns my calls!

Today, I finally spoke directly with a representative at the Chicago Department of Senior services. She informed me it that there is no more funding for respite care. Individual agencies might have available funds-- although; it is highly unlikely, because most agencies have experienced a backup since April.

It is disheartening to realize that we continue to be in a state of crises around elder care.

The majority of caregivers are women who work full time, and to have children still at home. The average household income of a caregiver hovers around $50,000 a year. Yet, there is very little help available to assist these caregivers in caring for their elderly loved ones.

It should be criminal!

As we continue to invest more than $10 billion a month to occupy a country that manages a multi-million-dollar surplus, we neglect American citizens.

As the baby boomer generation continues to age, we will soon see that more than 77 million US residents will need some form of elder care-- of course, an overwhelming majority have no long term care insurance and lack the funds for health care that cost anywhere from $15-$20 an hour. This translates to more than $45,000 a year for eight hours a day of help. For most families, this is not affordable. The average cost of nursing home care is $60,000 per year. For most families, this is not affordable.

I wonder how we as a society are going to take care of our elders when we can afford the cost of care (in both time and money).

As a single person with no kids, I will not be able to live long into retirement. I will not be able to afford home health care for myself. There is no one to take care of people like me. Euthanasia will be our only solution for many.

Very sad!