Healthier Boynton Beach awarded eight mini-grants in 2018 to organizations to provide services for the thousands of caregivers in Boynton Beach, mainly in zip code 33435. One of them was given to Connect to Greatness, which runs the Family Care Aware Project. Here’s a glimpse at what the program is all about.
How do we feel as caregivers?
It’s a question that has been discussed by parents and youth participating in Family Care Aware Project.
The project provides family caregiving awareness sessions to African-American, sixth grade students participating in the Boys to Men Leadership Academy, along with their mothers.
As part of the program, youth are taught the meaning of family caregiving — how to identify caregivers, and how to build empathy for other youth and adults in a caregiver’s role. They are also learning about available resources and services.
In addition, the youth, along with their parents, participate in two service learning projects in the community to positively impact the lives of family caregivers.
So far, the Women of Boys program has worked with Janice Tigner, who has shared information on the power of attorney, the importance of a living will, and the Five Wishes. Although these conversations were uncomfortable, they were powerful and eye-opening.
And Angela T. Williams, who emphasized the importance of self-care while caring for others, runs the other service project.
It’s during this session that the group discussed how they “really feel” as caregivers. After that, they took part in a workout session to relieve stress.