Building Your Care Circle

You've heard that it takes a village to raise a child, but that community support doesn't just benefit a parent and an infant. Community support is important for all of us at any age, but perhaps even more so as we begin to age past 65. In addition to providing positive socialization, an active community can fill in the gaps that can arise during the aging process when it comes to nutrition, transportation, and even personal care.

What Is a Care Circle?

A care circle is a term used to describe a group of people who are invested in the life of a senior. This care circle extends past the senior's immediate family and day-to-day caregivers. It might include a helpful neighbor who lives down the street, a college granddaughter who lives a state away, or a lifelong friend who lives nearby.

Benefits of Implementing a Care Circle Approach

A care circle can benefit the senior and family caregivers. Seniors with an active care circle, no matter how big or small, enjoy perks like:

• socialization with more people regularly, not just a few family members every few days
• enhanced safety thanks to more regular check-ins via phone calls and visits
• decreased feelings of loneliness and isolation (isolation has been linked to increased risk for cognitive decline, heart disease, and stroke¹)
• increased flexibility by relying on different people for their needs (this can be helpful as seniors build trust with different caregivers)

Family caregivers also reap the benefits of an active care circle, as it takes some of the responsibilities off their plate, allowing them:

• respite time to spend relaxing and recovering from the emotional toll caregiving can take
• decreased feelings of stress and guilt
• confidence to take time off for illness or personal obligations

Creating a Care Circle

Many seniors already have a small care circle, though it is often informal. For example, your mom might have coffee with the neighbor every Tuesday or the local VFW might visit your dad monthly. However, it can be helpful to create a more intentional list of all the invested members in your loved one's life so you can ensure you are utilizing them to help meet your loved one's health goals.

First, list people who are already part of your loved one's life. This includes friends who call regularly or neighbors who stop by consistently. Your list can also include family members who might live far away or are not a part of daily caregiving tasks. Write down their names and how often they call or check in on your loved one.

Next, write down a list of the caregiving tasks. Consider any of these tasks and adjust the list based on your loved one's abilities and preferences:

• visually checking in on your loved one every few days
• verbally checking in on your loved one daily
• dropping off a meal a few times per week
• sending word searches or other word games in the mail
• picking up groceries and putting them away a few times per month
• picking up medication refills at the pharmacy
• helping with light housekeeping or throwing in a load of laundry
• checking that bills are paid and not piling up
• walking daily
• picking up and dropping off at church each Sunday morning
• escorting to physician appointments

Communicating with a Care Circle

While you can certainly communicate individually with the members of your loved one's care circle, creating a way to communicate with the entire group can be helpful. This way, the group members can ask for help or share their observations. For example, the neighbor might want the rest of the group to know that your mom had the sniffles when she visited yesterday so that the next people who visit her can make sure she isn't getting sick or that she is receiving the support she needs if her sniffles turn into a full cold.

Depending on how you prefer to communicate, there are options for this, including:

• a private Facebook group where you invite members of the care circle to join
• a calendar sign-up app for specific tasks, like MealTrain
• a group text thread
• a group email

Use your communications to relay information to one another but always keep the privacy of your loved one in mind, and ensure most details about them and their medical information remain confidential, particularly on social media. If someone needs more specific information, like the address of your loved one's doctor they are driving to tomorrow, you can send that separately.

Paid Care Circle Members

The more family members, friends, and neighbors you can get into your loved one's care circle, the better. However, it can be a wise investment to hire members as well, especially if you are struggling to help with certain tasks.

Nonmedical home care agencies can often help with services like transportation, housekeeping, laundry, and companionship. You can also hire a housekeeper for regular deep cleaning visits or pay a subscription to a grocery delivery service. This can be worth it and free up members of the care circle to help with other tasks.

Care Circle Task Inspiration

Wondering what your care circle members can help with? Here are just a few ideas to inspire you!

• a granddaughter who calls every Tuesday at 7 p.m. to talk about the latest episode of their favorite television show
• a lifelong friend who lives far away now sends a monthly letter through the mail and encourages your loved one to write back
• a nonmedical caregiver who stops by every Monday for a wellness check, to tidy up the home, and to lay out clothing for the next week
• a neighbor who stops by with lunch twice per week
• a church volunteer who drives your loved one to Sunday services weekly
• your sibling who sets up doctor appointments and follow-up appointments (plus schedules transportation)
• your brother-in-law who takes care of making sure all the bills are paid on time
• a neighbor who drops in three times per week to escort your loved one on a stroll around the neighborhood so they can get in their physical exercise and a little gossip time

Your care circle can be as large or as small as you want, and the people in it can be as involved as they are able. It all adds up and makes a positive difference in the lives of your aging loved one and all the family caregivers juggling their caregiving role with other personal obligations.