Caregiver Retreat - Concept Overview



This is an idea I am feeling energized to develop. A caregiver retreat program designed to restore caregiver hope, vitality, and social connections.

The program would be designed for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual renewal. The model would be a one week program - Monday arrival, Sunday depart. Each program would bring together a group of 10 caregivers. The program would be designed to provide solitary, group and one to one activities.

Caregivers would have opportunities to be in nature, to attend a spa, to spend time with animals, to spend time in an art studio (drawing, painting, pottery, clay sculpture). They would be part of support groups facilitated by mental health professionals. They would have access to one to one consultations with mental health and spiritual guidance professionals. They would have opportunities to attend social and cultural events. There would be educational opportunities for caregivers to understand the system and policy conditions that are currently causing them to slide into burn out. There would be opportunities for caregiver activism to write letters and raise awareness of the crisis in caregiving. Most importantly, caregivers would have an opportunity to spend time with other caregivers and make friends who truly understand the challenges caregivers are facing the courage it takes to succeed at completing a caregiving mission.

This would be a six day program (2 - 1/2 days and 5 full days) - Monday afternoon, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning.

The retreat program is designed to be transportable - wherever there are 10 caregiver beds, there is the potential for a caregiver retreat program. The makeup of the individual program activities, human resources, and daily schedules would depend on the location of the retreat. 

Beds for caregivers would be self-funded or sponsored (family, friends, corporate, non-profit, government endowments).

Beds for caregivers would also be supported with release time, so caregiving duties would be covered for the caregiver while they are away on retreat.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An empty room - 2024 10 23

Image
  Yesterday we tackled the task of removing Mom's personal possessions from her room. I did not realize how hard it would be. Luckily my son, Knoll, and my sister, Holly, were here to help with the work.  The day before, I had a good day. Good energy, able to set myself a modest goal and work throughout the day to get it done. Yesterday my energy was very low. I just felt tired, drained, out of gas. Every question took a great effort to answer. Every decision felt heavy and hard. Knoll started by sorting the drawers from Mom's desk. Every drawer had an assortment of different things in it, they were all a mix. Knoll was able to set up a collection of containers and figure out categories for what should go where. The last drawer on the lower right was physically heavy to open. This drawer held all Mom's hand weights. She loved to get her exercise lifting these weights while she sat in her chair or lay on her bed. She had extraordinary arm strength and it came in handy as she...
Read more

What love looks like - 2024 02 01

Image
  2024 02 01 - Jenny Notes 844 am Thursday morning. Mom is still asleep. I took in her dentures, refilled her water glass, and brought her glass of cranberry juice. The kettle has boiled, ready to make her cup of tea when she wakes up. It is a strange place to live. Knowing that we don't know how many days she has left. Knowing that the next time I walk into her room she may not be breathing. Hearing the slap, slap of her slippers as she shuffles out from her bedroom to the big green chair. Finding my last nerve plucked like a raw piece of wire when she sings through her recitation of nursey rhyms for the umpteenth time. Finding my brain misfiring as it tries to make sense of her insistence that she needs a new envelope from her desk so she can write the word "Cop" on it. Then putting a chocolate bar in the envelope and telling me to put it in the mail. Laughing with her when I put the envelope with the chocolate bar in it in the freezer and say, "There, I mailed it....
Read more

Gardening with Mom - 2024 05 15

Image
  My life with Mom is constrained to activities around home. It is ok for me to go for a 20 minute walk with the dog off the property and leave Mom in her chair or on her bed, but I start to feel uneasy for any longer period than that without knowing someone is looking in on her and making sure she has what she needs. In November, 2021, Mom was put on the palliative care registry and we organized ourselves to 'let nature take its course' on a six month timeline. Had we ever done this before? No. Did we know what to expect? No. We set aside our regular life routines of planning trips to visit grandchildren, or planning renovations, or planning to rescue a second dog, or install a new chicken coop. We put our lives on hold to organize and manage for Mom's needs, thinking this was a short term, acute situation that needed our full attention. At the end of the first six month period, we consulted with the Palliative Care nurse and extended the palliative care registration. Mom ...
Read more