Caregiving may be one of the most important and challenging roles you will ever take on in your life. To help you be more informed and prepared we have provided a list of reliable resources. We hope these resources help you take the best possible care of both yourself and your loved one, and make your role as caregiver a successful one.

• Caregiver Action Network (CAN) – The Caregiver Action Network serves a broad spectrum of family caregivers from the parents of children with special needs, to families and friends of wounded soldiers, to those dealing with chronic illness. CAN provides education, peer support and resources for family caregivers.

The main role of CAN is to connect caregivers to support resources such as forums, tools and links, advice from other caregivers and peer support. They advocate to ensure caregivers are educated, prepared and armed with information.

We like this website because on the homepage you can choose from a number of scenarios that best matches your situation. Results will provide a list of customized resources that specifically apply to your own unique situation.

• AARP Caregiving Resource Center – This is a section within the AARP website specifically for caregivers. The AARP Caregiving page is packed with different sections and areas. If you can sift through the busyness of the layout you will find the site has excellent information,   a “one stop shop” for caregivers. In addition to providing support information for caregivers, the website includes a lot of practical information. You can find long term care calculators, a place to enter in your zip code and pull up nearby providers and other concrete information for situations that most caregivers will be dealing with such as benefits and insurance, legal and money matters and end of life care.

This website is a favorite because it really is all inclusive in terms of information and resources. If you can’t find it on the main page there is a search option that will lead you to exactly what it is you are searching for.

• American Heart Association – Similar to the AARP page, the American Heart Association has a Caregiver section within its official website. This page is really focused on the caregiver from knowing your rights, to your physical health, to best communication practices with others around you. The page is actually quite easy on the eye, well organized and simple to navigate. While it may not include as much of  practical information as some of the other sites, this site provides some unique and in-depth information on caring for yourself as the caregiver.
• The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) – This is a non-profit coalition of national organizations focusing on advancing family caregiving through research, innovation, and advocacy. The NAC does a lot of research and policy analysis to develop best-practice programs and increase public awareness of family caregiving issues. It encourages involvement of caregivers through membership, subscription to its newsletters and a large annual conference. NAC does important work by not only providing great information for caregivers but also trying to improve the quality of lives for people through their research, policy contributions and advocacy.

If you are looking to be more involved and engaged in the issue of caregiving through policy and advocacy this is an excellent organization.

• CaregivingCafe.com – This site was created by one woman’s own journey of caring for her father through the end of his life, and later her husband as his health diminished. It’s another great site for useful resources and information, relevant news stories and an award winning blog.

What we really like about this site is the page that links you to 20 + websites for caregivers that include links to places like social security, Medicare, drug info and interactions, co-pays, health care reform, government benefits and many more. This is truly the gritty, necessary info that all caregivers need and it’s listed out in a nice, tidy list.

There are so many resources out there for you as a caregiver whether you are looking for information, peer support or outside help for your loved one. We hope you find our list of the ones we like helpful to you as you navigate through this journey.