This post is one I have been promising myself for months, so New Year’s Day seems a good time to do it. If you have additions to this list please get in touch and we will try to keep it up-to-date.
Support and information
Comox Valley Seniors’ Peer Counselling runs caregivers’ groups for those struggling with caregiving for dementia patients. They have been an amazing help and support to me here in the Comox Valley.
Alzheimer’s Society of BC provides occasional workshops on dementia, communication, these are invaluable, especially for those starting out. Highly recommended.
There are also a series of caregivers” teleworkshops by phone and/or on your computer. They are useful and they are available online, so you can glean information from past ones.
There are many more workshops and lectures and resources available on the Carering Voice Network, which carries information from organizations across Canada.
Financial aid
There are a host of grants and tax credits available for people disabled with dementia.
There is a federal Disability Tax Credit — you should register for this as soon as you can, but it does allow for backtax adjustments to when the disability struck.
BC Ferries has a special fare for the disabled and their travel companions.
Via Rail allows the caregiver to travel free if the disabled person needs a companion to manage the trip.
ICBC offers a discount on automobile insurance IF the car is in both your names. To qualify for this, you have to register for the BC Gas Tax Rebates for the disabled.
If the disabled person was a Veteran in the Korean war, you may qualify for some Veterans aid – Health Care or Independent Living especially if you are low income.
Home Care
Health care and home care are administered by regional agencies in British Columbia. In the Comox Valley, you need to get your patient onto the Home and Community Care caseload and then the workers will assess you for home care assistance, which will increase as your need does. This leads me to other factors around home care, and I will write about the Community Support for Independent Living (CSIL) program in another post.
This is just a top of the head list, so there may be other programs that people should know about – get in touch and I will add them to the list.
CaringCV 