by Leanne Loughran, FCA Student Intern

Most caregivers discover that being responsible for the care of another person is not an easy task. Also, that it isn't really just one, but a series of numerous and often daunting tasks. Juggling work and family life on top of caregiving duties leaves little time to focus on your own needs and well-being.

In honor of Veteran's Day tomorrow, we are posting an article written by FCA Family Consultant, Christina Irving, who attended and provided instruction to military caregivers at the 2014 National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, earlier this year. She summarizes her experience below.

Congratulations to California workers! In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 30th, California became the second state (after Connecticut) to pass a paid sick leave bill, now awaiting signature by Governor Jerry Brown. The bill requires businesses to provide up to three paid sick days per year for employees who work 30 days or more—a great first step towards helping hardworking Californians. Sick days may be used to care for an employee's own illness, or for that of a family member (child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling).

In the early part of last month, FCA hosted a special retreat in San Francisco’s historical Stern Grove for Spanish-speaking caregivers. Typically, FCA’s retreats are in English, but we wanted to plan a special day for our caregiver clients that only speak Spanish.