In a recent story published by AARP, research shows the number of family caregivers has jumped to 63 million Americans, representing a 45 percent increase, or nearly 20 million more caregivers, over the past decade, according to a joint report by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC). This means roughly 1 in 4 American adults are caregivers, with 59 million caring for adults and 4 million for children under 18 with an illness or disability.
The new report, Caregiving in the US 2025, is a near 30-year research series that provides a comprehensive look at the state of caregiving in America, revealing how caregivers are taking on more complex responsibilities, often at the expense of their own health and financial security. Today’s family caregivers are younger, more diverse and more likely to be juggling multiple roles, with nearly a third caring for both children and adults.
Many of us know someone who is a caregiver or you may be a caregiver yourself. Many caregivers feel alone, helpless, confused, unprepared, tired and unable to provide for the needs of their family member or friend. Many caregivers put the loved one that they are caring for first all the time, which puts strain on their own mental and physical health. Often, people caring for another need help and do not know how or who to ask.
There are many ways to help support a caregiver…
Ask the caregiver how they are doing:
Acknowledge what they are going through and let them know you respect their privacy, but care about them and want to offer support and a listening ear. Caregivers tend to experience “caregiver’s guilt,” which is a feeling that they think they aren’t doing enough. Give them strength by reassuring them that they are doing everything possible for the person they are caring for.
Spend time with the person who is sick or injured:
Family caregivers are often the only link the care receiver has with the outside world. Offering to spend time with the person can be a gift to both the care receiver and caregiver. Bring a book or newspaper to read aloud, a game to play, a craft to do together, photos to share, a good movie to watch, or just a friendly ear for a conversation. And plan to stay a while, it will be appreciated more then you know.
Offer specific help:
Don’t say “call me if you need me,” it is too vague and may not appear to be a sincere offer to help. Often caregivers do not want to be a bother or may not feel they have the time to make a call, as it is one more thing for them to do. Be specific: tell the caregiver you are going grocery shopping and ask them what can you pick up for them, offer to make a phone call for them, cook a meal for the caregiver and care receiver a day or two each week (pick the days and stick to it, that’s one less thing the caregiver has to worry about those days), sit with the person who is ill, do research to find local and legitimate resources that would be helpful for the caregiver given their situation, take care of the person who is ill overnight, if you are able to do so, giving the caregiver a much needed overnight break or go with the caregiver to appointments and help the caregiver get the care receiver into and out of the appointment. You never realize how helpful a second set of hands is when you are taking someone who is dependent on you out of their home to appointments.
By offering to do something specific, you are communicating that you are really willing to help the caregiver. If you call the caregiver and they don’t answer, text them. Sometimes caregivers feel so burned out they don’t want to answer the phone or can’t answer the phone and texting is a quick way for them to respond back to you when they have a moment. They will be thankful you reached out and want to help in whatever way you can.