The Caregiver's Journey...

Through the role of caregiving we recognized the need for support of the caregiver. In educating the caregiver, we can help ensure the care they are providing is safe for both the patient and themselves. Further, we strive to provide emotional support so that the caregiver is taking care of their own mental and physical needs while caregiving. Too many times, the caregiver suffers more than the person for whom they are providing care.

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Scholarships

The Richard Besser Memorial Scholarship Fund was created to provide financial assistance to graduating high school seniors with a caregiving youth experience. The scholarship provides $1,000 to the student to be applied toward their tuition.

For more information on this scholarship, or to apply, go to the Pinellas Education Foundation.

2009 Winner of the
Richard Besser Memorial
Caregiving Youth Scholarship

Megan Leslie
Graduate of Palm Harbor
University High School

Also pictured is VeraBesser, the wife of Richard Besser, whom the scholarship is named in honor of.

2008 Winner of the
Richard Besser Memorial
Caregiving Youth Scholarship

Kristen Sizemore
Graduate of Seminole High School

2007 Winner of the
Richard Besser Memorial Caregiving Youth Scholarship

Tiarra Ramsey
Graduating senior from
St. Petersburg Collegiate
High School

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Caregiving Youth Project of Pinellas

We believe that school is the work life of children. Just as employed adult family caregivers are physically, emotionally, psychologically, and financially affected when they have heavy responsibilities of caregiving at home, so are children. Adult caregivers miss work; children miss school. Adult caregivers reduce their hours or stop working; children quit school – sometimes to get a job to help financially support the family. Unsupported adult caregivers have health consequences of caregiving and so do students who are at an additional risk further compromised because their physical size and developmental stage may be less than the responsibilities that are behind what is being required of them.

These children have neither been identified nor have their needs been met. Thus, they are risk of dropping out of school and having future challenges.

For the past decade, researchers in the UK have documented the issues surrounding “young carers.” Here in the US, the first national report, “Young Caregivers in the US,” funded by the Administration on Aging, was released in September 2005. It reports and documents that there are more than 1.3 million youth serving as family caregivers. This nationally representative sample for the US population does not reflect the unique demographics of Florida and/or Pinellas County where there is a high percentage of older adults, more grandparents raising children, more single parent households, and more ethnic diversity.

The focus of the Caregiving Youth Project of Pinellas is to identify, recognize, and support caregiving youth so they will know that they are not alone and to equip them with skills that they need to help them with their responsibilities. We will also provide an in-home evaluation and an opportunity for respite and fun to help normalize childhood.

We are working with the Pinellas County School District and have completed a brief survey within Largo Middle and High Schools, our initial pilot schools. We have learned that nearly one in three of these students have some type of caregiving responsibilities.

The results of the surveys that we conducted at Largo High and Largo Middle have Pinellas County School District Administrators asking, “What do we do next to help these children and break the silence about this problem?” Our answer is to use these schools as pilot schools in our county. Examples of help we can offer include: professional counseling, education about their role as caregivers, provision of respite, activities, and support for a normal life with less worry.

Our program is affiliated with the American Association of Caregiving Youth and will be the second project of its type in the US. We are working with a network of existing agencies as well as with colleagues in Palm Beach County who are currently piloting the first US model of in- and out-of-school support that is based on the model successes of programs in the UK, where difficulties with education have been shown to decrease when student-caregivers are supported.

It is rare that one gets an opportunity to break new ground to expose the invisible – to support children who, through no fault of their own, may be enduring needless hardship. The challenge lies ahead. The spirit of cooperation and openness to exploring undetermined possibilities presents an exciting and daunting challenge. Any approach to solutions must be collaborative, coordinated, integrated, and multidisciplinary. Little by little, it will be possible to succeed in supporting student caregivers.

Thus, with your support, the Caregiving Youth Project of Pinellas can likewise make a difference in the lives of children and their families to help remove some barriers to learning and increase the ability of a child to be successful in school.

Click here to see a complete listing of our Collaborative Partners.

Support Groups

The Caregivers Support network sponsors the following support groups.

Click here to view the list in pdf format.

• Alzheimer’s Support Group – Held the second Tuesday of every month at 6 pm at Regal Palms Premier Assisted Living, 300 Lake Avenue Northeast, Largo. Please RSVP to 727.437.1639. Light dinner provided.
• Arthritis Support Group – Held the fourth Tuesday of each month at noon at Cypress Palms Enhanced Assisted Living, 400 Lake Avenue Northeast, Largo. Please RSVP to 727.437.1639. A light lunch will be served.
• Parkinson Support Group – Held the third Tuesday of each month at noon at Cypress Palms Enhanced Assisted Living, 400 Lake Avenue Northeast, Largo. Please RSVP to 727.437.1639. A light lunch will be served.
• Gluten Intolerance Support Group – Held the first Saturday of each month at 10 am at Cypress Palms Enhanced Assisted Living, 400 Lake Avenue Northeast, Largo. Please RSVP to 727.437.1639. A light lunch will be served.
• Alzheimer’s Support Group – Held the third Thursday of each month at 11 am at Cypress Palms Enhanced Assisted Living, 400 Lake Avenue Northeast, Largo. Respite provided on as needed basis. Please RSVP to 727.437.1639. A light lunch will be served.
• Fybromyalgia Support Group – Held on the third Saturday of each month at 11 am at Imperial Palms East Clubhouse, 1300 Imperial Palm Drive, Largo. Please RSVP to 727.437.1639. A light lunch will be served.

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Coming Soon...