• It is important for all volunteers, care recipients and family caregivers to feel safe. Offering or participating in a Safe Zone program might be crucial for the populations you are planning to serve. Safe Zone programs are designed to foster environments where LGBTQ+ individuals are safe, welcomed and supported. To learn more about Safe Zone programs, a free online resource for powerful, effective LGBTQ+ awareness and ally training workshops, look here: https://thesafezoneproject.com/
  • Create an intake process for your program that is inclusive and fosters a welcoming atmosphere. This intake process should be informed by listening to community needs, educating yourself, and providing education to those within your organization.
  • Train your volunteers in appropriate language to use with your diverse target populations and ensure they are trained to treat all program participants and caregivers with respect regardless of cultural or physical differences.
  • Be aware of national and community wide culturally recognized celebrations when scheduling program events and trainings. Some examples of these include Martin Luther King Day, Ramadan, Jewish holidays, etc.
  • Encourage program participants and family caregivers to use their voices to provide appropriate feedback to the organization about their needs. Your organization can provide multiple avenues for all volunteers and program participants to provide feedback to the organization.
  • Be flexible when setting up locations for volunteers and program participants to meet. This helps to remove transportation barriers and helps both individuals establish and maintain privacy should, for example, the care recipient not wish to have nonfamily members in their home.
  • Offering both virtual and in-person options addresses the unique circumstances and limitations family caregivers might face due to socioeconomic or geographic factors. This hybrid model fosters inclusivity, ensuring that all caregivers can access the program’s benefits.
  • When implementing a community respite program, offer caregivers a variety of alternatives that can be helpful and relevant over their caregiving journey. Being able to transition their family members from one respite service to another within one organization as their needs change is an enormous relief to caregivers. Family caregivers can experience a decline in options for socialization and support as their care receiver’s abilities and interests shift, which can be an added source of stress and worry. Having the capacity to transition a care recipient and their family caregiver from one format to another while maintaining the familiarity of the program staff and location can help reduce that stress.
  • When developing a lending library of tech devices, include accessories that meet the functional needs of those participating such as audio enhancement devices for those who are hard of hearing or a large stylus for those with arthritic changes.
  • The ability to pay for participation in programs can be a significant barrier for some community members. Consider offering scholarships, using the honor system, with each program offering. Posting a scholarship code stating, ‘Click this code to attend this program for free’, empowers the potential participant to attend regardless of income. Encourage program participants to share scholarship information with others.
  • Screening program participants for Social Determinants of Health identifies participant needs that may not have been identified or shared otherwise. A Community Health Worker could be used to offer limited case management support services to connect participants to respective community resources decreasing the number of older adults, persons with disabilities, and family caregivers who need assistance in maintaining independence at the local level but are unable to obtain help.