Most frail adults are cared for by family, relatives and friends who are non-professional caregivers. This is a challenging and difficult task for many who often neglect their own needs, including their health. The goal of this new project is to outreach, educate, and support Filipino family caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s Diseases and other forms of dementia. This program will have the following services available to our patients and community members who are caring for loved ones with dementia: information and assistance, limited respite services (a brief period of relief or rest from caregiving responsibilities), referrals to legal services, home visits (if necessary), diagnostic referrals to clinical services, supportive counseling, support groups, and case management.

Funded by the Weinberg Foundation and working in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association California Southland Chapter, the (API) Dementia Care Network, Filipino Family Caregiver Program is a part of a larger community-based collaborative model. The other partners in this project include Chinatown Service Center (focusing on the Chinese community), Little Tokyo Service Center (focusing on the Japanese community), Bet Tzedek Legal Services, LA Caregiver Resource Center, and Partners in Care Foundation. The goal is to expand caregiver support to the Filipino community, based upon the existing model provided in the Chinese and Japanese communities. Among the various agencies catering to the Filipino community, APHCV was selected to implement the program.

Our team is comprised of Cecile Sebrio and Perla Reyes, the new Care Advocate. For the past several weeks, these staff have been outreaching to key stakeholders in the Filipino community, including Philippine Consul General Mary Jo Bernardo Aragon, as well as the members of the Rotary Club of Historic Filipinotown, the Chamber of Commerce of Historic Filipinotown, the Veterans Foundation, Philippine Association for Networking and Advocacy, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, Filipino American Community of LA, Silver Lake Adult Day Health Care Center, Golden Agers of Los Angeles, and the Office of Councilmember Eric Garcetti, among others. They were all happy to learn about our new program and gave their commitment to help us identify families that can take advantage of this program.

With the support of everyone in APHCV we are looking forward to this rewarding endeavor. If you know of a Filipino patient or community member who is an informal, family caregiver to someone with memory loss, please let us know. You can call (323) 644-3880 ext. 341 or e-mail preyes@aphcv.org.