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This significant rise in the senior population has made caregiving a fact of modern life. Statistics show one-in-four Americans will serve as caregiver to an elderly or disabled loved one. The American Association of Retired People (AARP) found that more than 42-million Americans serve as unpaid caregivers. Unfortunately, these caregivers often end up paying a high price for their services, both personally and financially.

A study by the National Alliance for Caregiving found that one-third of all caregivers do it alone, without paid or unpaid help. This uphill battle can lead to a domino effect of health problems for both the caregivers and their families. Over time, the stress of caregiving can lead to long-term health complications. A 2017 survey by Embracing Carers found that 49-percent suffer from depression, 46-percent reported weight fluctuation, and 57-percent reported having sleep trouble.

And that’s before the stress of financial hardship enters the equation. MetLife found that caregivers lose nearly $3-Trillion a year in lost wages, pension forfeiture and sacrificed Social Security benefits. Almost 70-percent of caregivers are forced to make unwanted and difficult work accommodations, including leaving work early or taking unpaid time off.

This doesn’t include the $7,000 on average that caregivers personally spend each year to provide services for their loved one. The financial strain is even more pronounced for the poorest among us. Caregivers earning less than $25,000 a year often spend more than 20-percent of their income on caregiving expenses.

One of the more insidious consequences of caregiving is that it can fuel generational poverty. Women and millennial caregivers often face lifelong financial consequences. Millennials who begin caregiving as students or first-time job-seekers face significant employment and economic challenges. According to the Trans America Institute they are more likely to be passed over for job promotions, forced to reduce their job responsibilities, or get fired.

Just a few years of caregiving early in life creates lasting financial challenges and setbacks for women of all ages, making them much less likely to be able to safe for retirement and much more likely to need government assistance. A 50-year-old woman earning $40,000 a year who is forced to leave the workforce to care-give for just five years sacrifices an average of $256,753 or 11-percent of her potential lifetime earnings, according to the Center for American Progress. A woman forced to quit work at the age of 25 forfeits an average of $679,000 or 20-percent of her lifetime earnings. Women who become full-time caregivers are 2.5 times more likely to live in poverty.

Support provided by family and friends can make the difference between remaining at home or being institutionalized. The Institute on Aging found more than half of elderly and disabled adults who need help with daily living activities but have no family to care for them are forced to move into nursing homes, while only seven-percent who have a family caregiver are institutionalized.

Evidence shows that people who attend Adult Day Centers enjoy a better quality of life than those who don’t. A 2017 review of research on adult daycare programs published in The Gerontologist journal found adult daycare provided significant immediate and long-term clinical benefits, including improvements in both mental and physical health, and fewer problems performing activities of daily living.

For those among us who need a little help, Adult Day Care has a lot to offer. For seniors and disabled adults, it’s a chance to live at home longer, get active, receive medical help, be social and make new friends. For caregivers, Adult Day provides peace of mind that their loved ones are in good hands while they can’t be there.

The bottom line is not everyone can afford a bare minimum of $4,000 to nearly $6,000 a month for assisted living or nursing home care. In Kansas City in 2018, the average cost of Adult Day Care was $80 a day, or $1,733 a month, according to Genworth Financial. By comparison, the average monthly rate for living in an assisted living community was more than twice as much at $4,050. At an average of $5,582 a month, semi-private nursing home room cost more than three times as much.

As the number of elderly and disabled people who need help increases, new alternative and more affordable methods of in-home and community-based care options will be needed to help fill in the gaps. Although Adult Day Cares like The Respite House aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution for everyone, they can provide an affordable option for people who want to keep their loved ones at home with them for as long as possible.

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