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July 18, 2012 www.DesertMessenger.com Page 13 Caregiver Support Group needed Family support is a key driver in re- maining in one's home and in the com- munity, but it comes at substantial costs to the caregivers themselves, to their families, and to society according to a recent report from AARP. In the report, Arizona has about 855,000 family care- givers providing care to an adult with limitations in daily activities at any given point in time. The estimated economic value of their unpaid contributions was approximately $9.4 billion. These family caregivers provide approximately 80% of in-home care services in Arizona. Gladys, a caregiver support group Above: Gene and Maggie Ross had fun delivering to Quartzsite Food Bank with Director Carol Kelley Lutheran Church donates to Food Bank Quartzsite Maggie and Gene Ross, of Covenant Lutheran Church, delivered a large selection of ready to eat food to the Quartzsite Food Bank on June 26th, 2012. With the help of Thrivant Financial for Lutherans and Snowbird winter visitors a dedicated fund was created for summer food bank donations. Maggie said, "We're just the 'worker bees', but our congregation members were so generous. Also Wal-mart gave a $50 Gift Certifi cate for the cause. Save the Date for October 29th for another Spaghetti Feed Fundraising Event at Isaiah 58 Project. Maggie said, "Isaiah's going to help us, and we're going to help them. We're all going to work together. If we can get our Christian Community united, we can accomplish a lot." Maggie and Gene shared how much fun they had going shopping, searching for items that would be easy to eat and help keep a kitchen cool. They wanted to make sure to thank Wal-mart for their donations to our community. Quartzsite Coachworks On Site RV Repair A/C • Electrical • Plumbing • Roof Repair • All Appliances CALL TODAY! 760-799-2370 RV Specialist PO Box 5082 • Quartzsite, AZ 85359 www.QuartzsiteCoachworks.com Serving the RVing Community since1977 boredom, self-pity, and just plain anger, reached a breaking point. I knew I had caregiver burnout and I needed to get into a support group. I was willing to try to start one myself, only to learn that one was being formed in my area. It literally saved my sanity. My husband eventually was placed in a nursing home. You are not alone and in a support group member, is all too familiar on the reali- ties of caring for a loved one. "When my husband was fi rst diagnosed with Al- zheimer's, I thought my world had end- ed. We had moved to Arizona from the Los Angeles, California area, had been married 53 years, and were enjoying our retirement years. Except for some short term memory loss, my husband was a fully functioning person. As his progressed, my feelings of loneliness, you develop friendships, love and under- standing. Compassion from others is what we, as caregivers, need. And now, even though my husband passed away almost four years ago, I still attend our support group every month to provide support and compassion just like I received." Does this story sound all too familiar to you? WACOG is interested in establish- ing a caregiver support group in La Paz County and we need to know the amount of interest. So, if you are providing care to a friend or loved one and are in need of a caregiver support group, please call Western Arizona Council of Govern- ments (WACOG) at 1-800-782-1886. ELECT Lyle Browning District 2 Supervisor La Paz County www.VoteLyle.com ☆ Experience ☆ Transparency ☆ Communication Work Experience: • Eight years corporate experience in finance, with six years as a supervisor • Twenty-four years self-employed in agriculture, retail busines and real estate development • Fifteen years in education, including extensive work with volunteers Paid for by Committee to Elect Lyle Browning * Email address HERE