Caregivers 'SPEAK UP' | Who's going to take care of you when you grow old?

Try as we might to turn the hands of time backwards... we're getting old friends... and there's nothing we can do about that. Who's going to look after you when you get older?

This is a quick little note pertaining to CAREGIVING for our adult loved ones. If you know someone who is currently caring for an elderly person, please share the link below.
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We get so focused sometimes on the health issues of our loved ones, we tend to forget about the health of the CAREGIVER or that the caregiver has 'rights.  50 million people across the US are caring for a loved one with a chronic illness or disability.

In a brochure called SPEAK UP, the National Family Caregivers Association offers a wealth of information for 'advocating and empowering caregivers and their families.' They offer the following tips and suggestions to help you SPEAK UP for respect, for support, for information, for help, and for the rights of all family caregivers. First of all...

~ BELIEVE IN YOURSELF ~
*Self-identifying as a family caregiver
*Recognizing your strengths and acknowledging your limitations
*Learning to say "no"
*Commanding respect from healthcare providers

~ PROTECT YOUR HEALTH... you have the Right to: ~
*A good night's sleep
*A respite holiday
*Time and energy to exercise
*Regular checkups to ensure that if something is wrong, you catch it early
*A life of your own apart from caregiving

~ ALL ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS ~
Specific to you and only you, the caregiver know the following:
*Speak up for adequate education and training in the skills you will need as a family caregiver *Speak up for affordable health insurance if you are not getting it through your employer
*Speak up for financial support to protect you from impoverishment in your later years
*Speak up for annual assessments of your own needs and the means for meeting them

 

Please take advantage of the informative newsletter produced by the

NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVERS ASSOCIATION. 

Get on their email list or call (800)896-3650 to locate resources in your community.

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Here's another resource for your loved one:

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The First Amendment and Your Speech

What the First Amendment protects is largely a function of why it protects it-- the why being America's commitment to democracy and liberty. 

A mere 45 words, the First Amendment to the Constitution stands as a pillar of our democracy and has had an incalculable influence on the development of human freedom in the United States and the Western world. 

Watch a course preview here

How we define speech, the meaning of "religion," and when can the state interfere with your rights. How does the First Amendment apply to the Internet? Does the First Amendment apply to video games? Should new communication technologies make courts reconsider well-settled rules? Is social media subject to existing principles, to new ones, or to none at all?

By defining the relationship between the people and the state and placing checks on governmental power to silence its populace, its protections have important ramifications for every American. But the First Amendment is not simply a legal construct.  It has significant and far-reaching cultural implications as well. 

To study the First Amendment is to learn something about the meaning of America and who "We the People" are. So, it behooves citizens to understand what it says and its latest interpretations; particularly in this age of rapidly emerging technology. The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know is a six lecture online eCourse-- and provides a practical guide to understanding the protections and limitations implied by this fundamental constitutional provision.

Watch a course preview here

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