Meeting the challenges of caregiving | Island Senior
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 6, 2026
By Peggy Sue McRae
Journal contributor
Aging is democratic. We all face the passage of time and are equally as likely to require care ourselves as we are to find ourselves providing care for others. With an aging population and the need for caregivers increasing, we may find ourselves in an “all hands on deck” situation. We may need to take stock of the different forms of care available to us and strengthen the support we give each other and the caregivers in our community.
Islanders helping each other
We who are aging at a pace alongside our friends can make a point to check in on each other. From a simple, “How are you doing?” to offering to help accomplish small tasks or run errands together, we can support each other in ways that make all of our lives a little bit easier while helping us remain congenial and independent.
Interested in meeting with other seniors in a supportive and safe space to address what aging on San Juan Island means to you? Consider joining our new Aging on SJI Support Circle. We meet on the third Monday of each month from 2:30-4 p.m. in the Mullis Center Lounge. If interested, please contact Anna Coffelt at the Mullis Center.
Unpaid caregiving
In an article recently published in USA Today, Emma Heming-Willis, wife and now caregiver for her well-known husband actor Bruce Willis, confronts what she calls “a national crisis we can’t ignore,” a crisis in caregiving. Hemming-Willis cares for her spouse, who is diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia or FTD. Says Hemming-Willis, “It’s a vigilance layered on top of physical care. It is learning how to keep going when you are exhausted, showing up again and again out of love, even when it feels impossibly hard.” This essential labor, often taken on by a spouse, remains largely invisible, yet the impact on families and individuals can be great.
Family Caregiver Support Group: meeting at the Mullis Center, currently every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 11 a.m. to noon. Meetings are free and open to anyone who is an unpaid caregiver for someone 60 or older or disabled. Newcomers are welcome! For more information, contact Tyler Cornell at 360-370-7561.
Careers in caregiving
As the need for caregivers increases, those who work as caregivers will become increasingly essential. Caregiving can be meaningful and satisfying work. Providing workers with sustainable employment will be needed to attract and keep good people on the job. One support available to home care workers in Washington state is the SEIU 775 Union. SEIU 775 supports Consumer Direct WA caregivers.
CDWA paid caregivers are supported by state programs that supply in-home care to qualified lower-income community members. Union membership provides a supportive community, improved pay, the safety of background checks, continuing education and training, plus benefits such as health care and retirement. SEIU 775 Union: “Our mission is to unite the strength of all caregivers, to create a better life for ourselves and those we care for, and to lead the way to a more just and equitable world.” Contact SEIU 775 at 1-866-371-3200, 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., Monday through Friday.
By acknowledging our growing need for caregivers, we can begin to take stock of the solutions at hand and the growing need for greater solutions. As former first lady Rosalyn Carter told us, “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”
Caregiving Connections San Juan: caresanjuan.org.
