Caregiving

Many New Yorkers have additional responsibilities, such as caring for a loved one or an individual who needs more support and attention. Caregiving may include running errands, meal preparation, coordinating and scheduling medical appointments, checking the mail, bill paying and much more. These tasks can add stress to our lives, making extra support necessary, and the Department for the Aging’s (NYC Aging) Caregiver Program has resources and programs available to help.  

New York City is home to an estimated 1.3 million family caregivers and is growing. Many are women or older adults who provide at least 30 hours of care each week, in addition to working outside the home. 

Family Caregivers additional responsibilities include looking after an older adult who has Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, or a chronic illness. It can also be an older adult who is raising their grandchildren and/or relative child under 18 years old. This is referred to as kinship care. Any of these scenarios can increase stress, especially when individuals do not realize they are caregivers and do not utilize the resources and programs that are available to help them navigate this journey - which at times can be stressful, also extremely rewarding.

NYC Aging works with community-based organizations throughout the city providing expert care including:

Information and referrals: to other resources that can help the caregiver and those they are looking after.
Long-term care planning: receive support with health insurance and other social programs.
Support groups: learn from others and find support from other family caregivers in person, virtual, or telephonic
Counseling: to guide and inform caregivers on decision making and provide emotional support and a listening ear.
Training: in person or virtual to learn information that can help you as a caregiver.
Respite care: a break for the caregivers from caregiving responsibilities. Some examples include home care, social adult day services, after school program or a day camp, as well as virtual engagement.
Limited financial assistance for caregiver related expenses such as obtaining assistive devices including a medical alert system, limited home modifications, and caregiving supplies.

Family Caregivers owe it to themselves to seek support and learn how to incorporate self-care in their day to day. Contact Aging Connect at 212-AGING-NYC (212-244-6469) use our Services Finder, or view this list to locate the closest Caregiver Program in your neighborhood.

If you are a kinship caregiver, you can also use New York State’s Kinship Navigator to learn more about the services that are available. 

To learn more about NYC Aging’s efforts to support caregivers, read our Needs Assessment survey, Survey of Informal Caregivers and Plan to Support Unpaid Caregivers.

Hear from family caregivers who have connected with our programs and gained support and much more.

Social Adult Day Care

This is a program that can serve as a type of respite for family caregivers. It is for older adults who require assistance with activities of daily living, Social Adult Day Care provides socialization, supervision, monitoring, personal care, and nutrition in a structured setting. Most Social Adult Day Care centers are privately owned and require Medicaid or need to be paid directly by the family.

To find a Social Adult Day Care funded program through NYC Aging click here.