Welcome!

Hey hey!

My name is Rebecca and I’m so excited to introduce you to Caregiver Communion. I have created this space for all caregivers (Whether you’re a parent taking care of your child with high needs, or a staff working in any setting [group home, school, day program, nursing home/long term care, in a home, etc.) to relate, grow and thrive together.

I’ve spent the past five years working in a group home (and have some experience as a PCA for a child too) and now I’m finishing up occupational therapy school. Through being a staff caregiver, I have experienced the best of the best when it comes to the love and joy people with disabilities bring to the world. I have also gotten to share in some of the highlight reel moments that come from working with amazing families, support staff, and medical teams to make my resident’s lives better. While these moments have been incredible, the hard moments of brokenness seemed to pop up so frequently as well. My desire for Caregiver Communion is to make the community I wish I had while I was supervising the group home and to facilitate the community I’ve learned so many families wish they could have right now. A space for parents, caregivers, and loved ones to have the community, encouragement, and support they need. Through Caregiver Communion, my hope is to see the lives of parents and support staff made better. And believe that this will in turn improve the lives of the people we support too!

As we build out this platform, I want to see it become a place where knowledge and experiences are shared. The question, “How do you know what you don’t know?” is such a prevalent one when caring for people with disabilities. I’ve had the privilege of working with many different medical providers as well as learning from dozens if not hundreds of residents’ experiences about things that would benefit another resident I care for. And I have become aware that so many caregivers don’t have the connections that come through working in the long-term care side of things. And while those experiences in themselves were enough to highlight the need for a better way to connect and share knowledge, I then started occupational therapy school and have since gained so much knowledge that I wish I had five years ago when I started working at the group home. I am so excited for the growth that will come from Caregiver Communion.

So, what can you expect going forward? Each week we will explore various topics related to caregiving, this may range from caregiver self-care to resources available for caregivers, or topics relating to our care recipients. You can expect a new Podcast episode to be released each Friday accompanied by a blog post with a similar message. I understand how hard weekends can be when for many of us, it means increased time providing care and that’s why I’ve chosen Fridays to upload, with the intention of being an encouragement for what may for you, be the more difficult days of the week. I also understand how crazy life can be for caregivers, so I wanted to offer a few options for content to either be read or listened to whenever.

We are so excited to have you here as we grow this community. It would mean a lot if you could share us with any caregiver friends you may have. And please leave a comment letting me know what type of caregiver you are. 😊

Blessings,

Rebecca