Share The Care: How to Organize a Group to Care for Someone Who Is Seriously Ill, (Revised and Updated)

You Don't Have to Do It Alone

Whether you're prepared for it or not, chances are you'll take on the role of caregiver when a family member or friend is affected by a serious illness or injury, or when you find your elderly parent needs help. As you'll soon discover, the range of tasks and responsibilities involved are overwhelming. Share The Care offers a sensible and loving solution: a unique group approach that can turn a circle of ordinary people into a powerful caregiving team. Share the Care shows you how to:

—Create a caregiver "family" from friends, real family members, neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances.
—Hold a meeting to organize your group, and introduce members to the Share The Care systems that guarantee every job will be done and no one person will have to do too much.
—Discover the hidden talents within the group, make the most of their resources, cope with group issues, and stay together in the face of adversity.

Included here are valuable guidelines, compassionate suggestions, and a simple-to-use workbook section that together offer support to free the patient from worry and the caregivers from burnout. Share the Care offers friends and family the best answer ever to the frequently asked question "What can I do?"

Suzanne Mintz, president/cofounder, National Family Caregivers Association Share The Care is one of the best books ever written to help family caregivers. I was wowed by the first edition and this one is even better.

Joan Baez The guidelines and support offered in this book were invaluable to the Share The Care Circle organized to assist my sister Mimi [Fariña] during a long illness, and in her case, dying process...I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Share The Care was born when twelve people—including Sheila Warnock and the late Cappy Capossela—came together to help their terminally ill friend and stayed together caring for her for three and a half years. The authors documented the systems developed during that period for others to follow.

Tragically, in 2002, Sheila spearheaded a group for Cappy when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Following Cappy's death, Sheila founded a nonprofit organization ShareTheCaregiving in Cappy's memory.  She built a website (sharethecare.org) and updated and revised the book for a second edition.  

ShareTheCaregiving’s mission is to improve the “quality of life” of persons who are seriously ill, disabled, or experiencing the challenges of aging, and to reduce stress, depression, isolation and economic hardship often suffered by their family caregivers.   The organization offers a community educational program that includes a training for health professionals and clergy, workshops for caregivers, and Share The Care Stations.  E-mail and telephone support is available to caregivers, and health professionals.  In the works, is a web-based program that will allow Share The Care groups to operate on-line. Check the web site for information and announcements.  

SHARE THE CARE AWARDS:
Cited by The Library Journal as
“One of the Best Consumer Health Books of 2004”
Caregiver Friendly Award (Best Book) from
Today’s Caregiver Magazine, 2008
The New York City Share The Care Program (2008-09)
“2009 Achievement Award for Cross-Generational
Caregiving” from NYS Coalition for the Aging, Inc.
Statewide Caregiving & Respite Coalition of NY