Family Caregiver Alliance

Description

Founded in 1977, Family Caregiver Alliance was the first community-based nonprofit organization in the country to address the needs of families and friends providing long-term care at home. FCA now offers programs at the national and local level to support and sustain caregivers.

History
30 years ago, a small task force of families and community leaders in San Francisco came together to create support services for those struggling to provide long term care for a loved one who did not "fit" into traditional health systems: adults with Alzheimer's disease, stroke, Parkinson's, traumatic brain injuries and other debilitating disorders. The diagnoses were different, but the families shared common challenges: isolation, lack of information, few community resources, and drastic changes in family roles.

The task force's early efforts had three lasting results: the formation of Family Caregiver Alliance; the genesis of a statewide network of Caregiver Resource Centers; and the beginnings of a national movement to recognize the immense contribution of family caregivers to the long-term health care of the ill and elderly in our country.