THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Building a Winning Advocacy Team for Family Caregivers

By Donna Thomson, on March 25, 2013, at 5:07 pm

At first, advocating for care seems like a daunting, almost impossible task.  But like any unwieldy job, the trick is to break it down into manageable building blocks.  I’ve tried to simplify the how-to’s of advocating for care in a workshop that I give for caregivers called “How to Know What You Want and Get What You Need”.  

To begin advocating for care, it’s important to understand the ‘givens’, or what you already have in the way of support.  A tool for that analysis was part of my last post on this subject.

The next area to look

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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Lessons in the Meaning of Illness, Aging and Disability

By Donna Thomson, on February 28, 2013, at 10:49 am

In the days, months and years since my father’s first stroke, since the birth of my two children, since the diagnosis of our son’s disabilities and more recently, since my mother’s increasing infirmity, I have scoured books and my own memories to find meaning in my caregiving experiences.

With my Dad and with Nicholas, there was, for a time, a chorus of ‘whys’ in my head…. why them?  why us?  why me?  My Mum’s challenges are more organic, they come at the end of her long life, so I don’t rail against them in quite the same way.

Arthur Kleinman’s

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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Advocating for Care: How to Win, How to Lose

By Donna Thomson, on January 29, 2013, at 3:30 pm

I’ve been buried under a pile of blankets recently trying to keep warm – it’s been -30 degrees where I live in Canada!  But I’ve also been holed up designing the meat of a workshop on advocacy for family caregivers.

A quick google search into other such advocacy workshops reveals….nothing.  There are lots of advocacy workshops, but they relate to political advocacy.  There are lots of workshops for caregivers, but none that teach family caregivers how to use best practice political advocacy strategies to advocate for care.  So, the first “How To Know What You Want and Get What

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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Fairness in Policymaking for Family Caregivers: Part 3

By Donna Thomson, on October 16, 2012, at 11:57 am

This is Part 3 of my mini-series on fairness in policymaking for our families.  It’s taken from my book, The Four Walls of My Freedom.  I am a Canadian who has lived in my own country, in the UK and in the United States.  With the US Presidential debate this evening, I encourage in a completely non-partisan way (especially because I am Canadian!), a thoughtful discourse on our caregiving and family issues.  Here’s my take on the ethics behind fair policy. Ethics and moral philosophy guides us in shaping the financial deal between families and the state.  If . . . → Read More: THE CAREGIVERS’ LIVING ROOM – A Blog by Donna Thomson: Fairness in Policymaking for Family Caregivers: Part 3

 
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