The Future of Aging and Longevity - Flipbook - Page 12
The Young Faces of
Caregiving
Jason Resendez
Feylyn Lewis, PhD
President and CEO, Na琀椀onal
Alliance for Caregiving
Assistant Dean of Student
A昀昀airs, Vanderbilt University
School of Nursing
decade ago, when the 昀椀rst edi琀椀on of
this collec琀椀on was published, family
caregiving was s琀椀ll 昀椀gh琀椀ng for a place
in the na琀椀onal conversa琀椀on. Roughly 43 million
Americans were caring for a family member or friend,
yet caregivers were largely absent from policy, data
systems, workplace design, and health-care delivery.1
The decade since has been about making them
visible.2 The bipar琀椀san RAISE Family Caregivers Act
of 2018 delivered the Na琀椀onal Strategy to Support
Family Caregivers, the 昀椀rst society-wide blueprint for
recognizing 63 million American caregivers, the one
in four of us suppor琀椀ng a loved one with a serious
illness or disability.3 It was a hard-won milestone, 30
years in the making.
But every strategy has blind spots, and
this one is genera琀椀onal. The Na琀椀onal Strategy
was built by adults, for adults. The caregiving
movement’s next decade will be de昀椀ned by
whether we extend that hard-won recogni琀椀on to
the caregivers our systems were never designed
to see: the millions of young people pulling double
duty in classrooms and at bedsides.
Our work as researchers and advocates in
family caregiving keeps poin琀椀ng to the same
A
8
formula: Progress comes when we name a speci昀椀c
popula琀椀on of caregivers, rally the ins琀椀tu琀椀ons
with power to act, and connect both to concrete
goals. It worked for aging spouses and for veteran
caregivers. Now it’s 琀椀me to apply it to the family
caregivers no one is talking about: students.
According to research from the Na琀椀onal
Alliance for Caregiving and American Associa琀椀on of
Re琀椀red Persons (AARP), approximately four million
American children under 18 are family caregivers.4
Another 昀椀ve million young people are balancing
caregiving with postsecondary educa琀椀on.5 They
are managing insulin schedules and dialysis
appointments between classes, running households
before they can legally rent an apartment, and
doing it largely in the shadows.
One of us knows this life 昀椀rsthand. Lewis grew
up as a young caregiver, an iden琀椀ty that shaped
a career documen琀椀ng these experiences and
advoca琀椀ng for solu琀椀ons and visibility.
Research from AARP should stop us cold: Seven
in ten student caregivers say caregiving is hur琀椀ng
their coursework.6 Nearly three-quarters feel
overwhelmed. Yet only one in three tells a professor
or advisor what they’re carrying. It’s no wonder that
MIL K EN I N S T I T U T E | T H E FU T U RE O F AGI N G A N D LO N GEV I TY
