Compassion into Caregiving

If you've tried to find in-home care for an older adult lately, you've probably noticed how hard it is. That's not a coincidence. The caregiving workforce is actually shrinking even as the population that needs it keeps growing. Nationally, about one in five Americans 65 and older live in rural areas, where care is hardest to come by, and researchers project the U.S. could be short as many as 4.6 million home care workers by 2032. A big part of the problem is pay: home care jobs are physically and emotionally demanding, but they're often low wage with few benefits, so people don't stay in the field long. At the same time, younger, working-age adults keep moving toward cities for jobs, leaving fewer people nearby in outlying communities to step into caregiving roles.

Here on the Eastside, that shortage comes down to a simple math problem: caregivers can't afford to live where the work is. Housing costs in Issaquah, Sammamish and the Snoqualmie Valley put them out of reach for most home care wages. It's difficult to get caregivers if they need to commute from areas with more affordable housing. Members across all these communities end up in the same spot. They want to stay in their own homes as they age, but there may be no one nearby who can take the job.

That's exactly the gap our pilot program, Compassion into Caregiving, is built to close. Funded through King County's Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy (VSHSL), the pilot is an innovative way to grow the workforce from within our own communities. We identify high school seniors, retirees, career changers and stay-at-home parents who already live in the areas we serve, and support them through becoming certified, independent home care aides. These are people who don't need to commute in from somewhere else, because they're already home.

To make that path realistic for people, we are eliminating the barriers that usually get in the way. Training is free, so cost isn't a barrier to getting certified. Everyone works closely with our program mentor, who's already doing this work, so they're never learning alone. Before committing to paid care work, people have the option to volunteer with us first, so they can get comfortable with members and the work itself before making it official. And because caregiving isn't the only thing going on in someone's life, we also help with the practical stuff that can derail a good caregiver before they even start, like transportation to training and childcare during their hours, so a lack of either doesn't become the reason someone can't finish the program.

It's early, but we are excited about the next step for aging in place. Volunteer support gets our members a long way, but it has a ceiling. Certified, paid caregivers who already live in the community can help close that gap without anyone having to leave Issaquah, Sammamish, or the Valley to get the care they need.