Image courtesy of Exhale, the Family Caregiver Initiative
Exhale is giving family caregivers across Southeast Michigan a well-deserved breather. The Family Caregiver Initiative recently announced nearly $2.2 million in funding for 11 new respite programs powered by partnerships among 50 organizations. These innovative projects aim to reimagine relief, providing creative, community driven solutions that lighten the load for caregivers while supporting the ones they love.
Grants were awarded to 11 lead organizations that partnered with other local organizations to develop projects to increase access to respite services and enhance families’ well-being in Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties.
Misha Stallworth West, program officer for caregivers of older adults at Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, emphasized that each project team has its own creative idea that will allow family caregivers an opportunity to rest, recharge, and attend to their own well-being.
“With more than 1.7 million family caregivers in Michigan—44 percent residing in Southeast Michigan—the need for respite projects is significant,” West said.
These new respite projects will launch in early 2025 and include support groups, educational workshops, respite expos, community engagement activities, and more. For example, one team is hosting a support group and workshops about financial management, meditation, and family dynamics. Another team is funding caregivers to attend relevant camps and retreats.
At the beginning of this year, Exhale organized informational sessions to prepare for this program, drawing over 200 attendees. These sessions resulted in a number of workshops where participants left with skills in creative problem-solving and other forms of technical support, in addition to receiving stipends for their involvement. Engaging in these workshops fostered new collaborations and partnerships, allowing organizations to develop their project concepts and strategies.
One caregiver in Washtenaw County said: “In the beginning, I was really hesitant to say it was for me, a break from family….I feel like the break makes me a little bit more patient with my mom when we do spend time together, so then, that helps my well-being.”
The initiatives are launching following the initial two Exhale cohorts, which started in 2020 and 2022, involving 90 partner organizations that developed 16 effective caregiver respite projects in Western New York and Washtenaw County, Michigan. Evaluators from The New York Academy of Medicine’s Center for Evaluation and Applied Research surveyed 96 caregivers who benefited from the first cohort’s initiatives and discovered that 98 percent reported gaining new resources for support and felt better assisted due to improved access to respite services. Also, 94 percent of respondents indicated that they had new chances to take breaks from caregiving as a result of an Exhale project.
One grantee stated: “I think all of the partnerships in this are so positive and robust. Everybody’s really invested in us being successful, and so, that alone helps with sustainability because you don’t have just one person figuring out how we keep this going; you have multiple, all the partners looking at, ‘Okay, this is really good, how do we continue to build, how do we grow, and then, how do we expand, and then how do we keep it going?’ ”
In Southeast Michigan, Exhale is made possible by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. Exhale is managed by The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) with support from Teresa Lawrence, president, International Deliverables.
Exhale was first established in the Southern Tier region of New York in 2019, and since has expanded across the nine counties of Western New York, and the seven counties of Southeast Michigan through the generous support of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. To date (prior to the 2024 awards), 90 partner organizations have created 16 successful caregiver respite projects in New York and Michigan.
Neel Hajra, chief executive officer of Michigan Health Endowment Fund, highlighted that when caregivers are asked about the help they need most, they consistently rank respite among their top priorities.
“Increasing opportunities for caregivers to take a break will improve their and their loved one’s quality of life and also benefit their loved ones,” Hajra said.
“That’s why we’re excited to help dozens more organizations in Southeast Michigan expand and strengthen the network of respite supports.”
To read more about the 2024 grantee cohort and the 11 lead organizations in Michigan, visit ExhaleForCaregivers.org.
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