'What Is A Caregiver?' Public Awareness Campaign
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
St. Paul, MN
The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation is a nonprofit health and human service organization that assists thousands of people each year through direct service programs, research, leadership and community capacity building. About 19% of caregivers self-identify as such. Most caregivers do not access resources to help them in their role, and as a result do not access supports that could help them in their role. This creates a domino effect of negative health and economic consequences. Wilder’s response to this problem was to develop and launch an innovative approach to identifying and engaging caregivers before the crisis. This public awareness campaign has had tremendous impact on creating community awareness of caregivers. Approximately 45,000 caregivers of those with dementia were reached by the year-long campaign.