A six-week online class designed to help family caregivers do the very best they can for their loved ones – and for themselves – is set to get underway in early September and Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments staffer Susan Tucker wants folks to know how helpful the program is. Tucker speaks from first-hand experience: not only did she complete the class, but she went on to become an instructor.

“I know that it works because it worked for me,” Tucker told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk. The class is called “Powerful Tools for Caregivers,” and she said the impact it has had in her own life has been transformative. She has been a caregiver to her mother for the past six years and the tools that she learned from the class have proved invaluable.

The class runs on Tuesday mornings from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. beginning Sept. 6 and continuing through Oct. 11. It is free and designed for any non-paid caregiver; all participants will receive a workbook as part of the class.

Michael Patterson, a family caregiver specialist with Kerr-Tar COG, said participants learn how to take care of themselves as they provide care for their loved ones, which at times can be a delicate balancing act. The class provides information about community resources, as well as techniques and skills necessary to handle and manage stress.

“That’s the wonderful thing about the class – that’s the whole point,” she said, of finding ways to manage the stress of caring for a loved one. It can be incredibly overwhelming, she added, and rarely is the caregiver prepared for or aware of what they’re getting into.

The class is different from other programs that may be focused squarely on the person who requires the care, which may provide a checklist of all the things that should be done for that person to receive proper care.

“(This) class really gives the caregiver the tools to handle their role as a caregiver,” Tucker said. “It puts tools in your hand to perform those tasks so that you can thrive while you’re caring for your loved one.”

The biggest takeaway for Tucker, she said was a feeling of confidence. “II actually felt – all of a sudden – that I could do it. I didn’t feel alone.”

Call 252.436.2040 to register for the Powerful Tools for Caregivers class.

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