You are not alone on this journey.

Now there is an Online Community to help!

At AnswersForElders.com, we believe that no one should have to experience navigating taking care of your elderly loved one feeling alone and unsupported.  Let's face it. We caregivers are living in a daunting world. How do we really know if we are making the right decisions for our parents?  There are so many things we face, and yet, if we knew what to prepare for in advance, things wouldn't be such a crisis every time something happens that we have to step in and make decisions!

AnswersForElders.com is created by an adult family caregiver walking the same path, caring for her elderly mom.  Because she found online resources so limited, she created an online community that will support you on your journey. We are a resource portal of answers that you need most, not only to learn what the issues are that you need to face, but even more- finding the local businesses that you can work with in your own local community.

We know that even though Mom & Dad may or may not be in Retirement Living, being supported online as their family caregiver is a lot more than a referral service.  It is our hope that here, you will find resources in your decision making process that makes your world just a little bit easier.  We also realize that today in the present economy through housing market prices falling, that seniors are spending longer at home, and thus, that means you have more on your plate with Mom & Dad and worry even more about their safety and care at home.  That's why we provide resources here, for every day life, that helps make your job a whole lot easier.

Becoming the caretaker for our parents can be one of the most distressing experiences of a lifetime. Yet, it can also be one of the most life-changing and precious times too.  Changing the dynamic between parent and child is complex. Trying to ensure that our parents age happily is often difficult and sometimes overwhelming. There are usually legal issues, medical problems, logistical nightmares, and, more and more often, financial concerns.  This places overwhelming stress on the adult child, who often times is trying to juggle a family, children, relationships and a career. 

We understand. 

Our founder walks the same path every day with you.

 

The Caregiver Epidemic

Of the 80 million baby boomers in the US, 28 million are already responsible for the day-to-day care of a parent, and 53 million have elderly parents who will likely become dependent in the next decade.  There is a community here, just waiting to be brought together, searching for information, guidance, and support. We strive to connect and strengthen that community.

According to the National Alliance on Caregiving, the average caretaker works outside of the home, and has a list of other responsibilities, not to mention making time for herself. Taking care of a parent can easily become overwhelming. The average caretaker spends 20 hours per week caring for her parents, and has to cut down hours at work by 41%. Caretakers of elderly parents experience more health problems than their peers, and 91% of these caretakers report depression.

Our Vision

AnswerForElders.com is a resource portal and social site, designed specifically to connect adult caregivers of elderly parents with information, and also with each other. Through a full spectrum content of resources including professional experts, online support, a local directory and a social network of people facing similar challenges, we provide the platform to share wisdom and experience with each other..

 

Answers For Elders Features

An Information and Resource Portal

AnswersForElders.com has plenty of information to help guide families through difficult decisions and confusing new questions. We strive to keep you up to date on key issues that effect you, whether it be in Healthcare Laws, Medicare, the Political Backdrop, Estate Planning, and how to navigate it all. 

Our Professional Experts share their wisdom and expertise, and thus, whether you need information on medical directives, retirement homes, or the best senior-friendly businesses, AnswersForElders.com has answers.

 

Social Site- (Coming Soon!)

The social site will provide the opportunity to connect with friends, family, or strangers with similar experiences. Our social site will be compatible with other major social networks, and thus, our users will be able to share key information from our experts on their Facebook walls, and help to bring about a new phase of their Facebook experience.  By making connections here, our AnswersForElders.com users can share knowledge and tips, and can rest assured that they aren’t alone in their struggles to care for an elderly parent.

Families can connect through an "inner circle" that will enable them to share resources, a journal, and memories, and to dialogue between each other and care providers to keep each other well informed.            

 

Local Senior Friendly Business Directory

            Our business directory contains senior-friendly businesses in all fields, with all-important ratings and recommendations from other website members so you don’t have to trust your parents’ wellbeing to unverified providers. In addition, we also offer a tool to help you in hiring decisions, by providing a Background Check service as needed.  If you have a business, claim your FREE PROFILE on the directory, and reach out to the people looking for you! 

Need a Mover with senior rates?  How about a Restaurant with early seating  or a senior menu?  A Healthcare Provider that accepts Medicare?  Now you can find Senior Friendly businesses in your own community, and also rate your experiences with businesses that you as our users of the site, find noteworthy.  Do you have anything to share about the local businesses in your community like:

  •   Medical, Health & Wellness:  Doctors, Wellness Practitioners, Fitness Centers, etc.
  •   Legal Services:  Attorneys, Notary Publics, Financial Advisors, Estate Planning Services
  •   Retirement Living:  Independent, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing & Memory Care
  •   Real Estate Services- Realtors, Appraisers, Relocation Specialists
  •   Restaurants- Senior Menus, Early Seating, Accessibility, Menu Flexibility
  •   Salon Services- Senior Rates and Services, Accessibility
  •   Entertainment- Accessibility, Attractions of High Interest to Seniors, Senior Rates
  •   Movers & Logistical Support- Senior Rates, Pawn Shops, Estate Sale Consultants, Movers
  •   Financial Services:  Planners, Banks, Advisors, Tax Planners, CPAs and Accountants
  •   Medical Supplies:  Pharmacies, Medical Equipment, etc.
  •   Caregiving:  Family Homes, Adult Daycare, Transportation, Caregiving Agencies
  •   Handyman, Household, etc:  Home Repair and Modification, Landscapers, Housecleaners and more!!

 

Noble SWANS 

SWAN: Stellar Women Are Noble

AnswersForElders.com honors the "dutiful caregiver," the one who is always there for mom and dad. Soon, "Noble SWANS" will be the common term that the world uses, as an acronym and metaphor for living life with grace, as they paddle feverishly beneath the surface to juggle family, life, career, and ultimately being there for their aging parent.

AnswersForElders.com has a Meetup™ page.  We encourage the Noble SWANS across America to become MeetUp coordinators to bring you all together in real life support groups.  By connecting together in your own community, you can begin to build ties that bind, in sharing the load and the path that only other adult family caregivers understand. 

Online Store (Coming Soon!)

Rounding it out, Targeted to launch in November 2010,  we will have an online store that will feature products that we look for and often times are hard to find, as well as gift items for Noble SWANs themselves. 

 

Our Future

We envision AnswersForElders.com to be the resource that our children will look to for answers when helping us in our own retirement. We strive to be the primary source that all adult children seek out when needing answers for their elderly loved ones.  We will evolve with the help of our members, and can see amazing opportunities for growth in the future.