National Caregivers Month

Stats

• 1 in 5 US adults identify as caregivers
• (53 million or 21.3% of US adults)
• Average caregiver age is 50.1 years old.
• 10% are enrolled in college or other classes
• 89% are taking care of a relative
• 10% of grandparents are taking care of one or more grandchildren
• 40% live with the person they care for full time
• 24% care for 2 or more people
• 27% help someone with a mental illness
• 60% of caregivers work full or part time
• 30% of caregivers also live with a child or grandchild
• 36 billion hours of unpaid care. $470 billion of free labor.

Common Stressors

• Little to no personal time
• Family discord with care recipient as well as other members of the family
• 14% are more likely to report high difficulty finding affordable services
• Dealing with complex emotions
• 21% of caregivers taking care of a person with mental illness are more likely to feel high emotional stress themselves
• 1/3 of those caring for people with bipolar disorder report significant symptoms of depression
• Not living up to your own expectations
• 11% say they didn’t receive any training for the job
• Cultural expectations
• 7% of caregivers feel they have been discriminated against at work because of their role

Resources