Write to your congressman, please

I want to ask anyone out there that has a reason to want to see family caregivers helped by the federal government to please write their congressman and state your case. Whether you are looking to get help for yourself or someone that you know that provides care or just want to do a good deed for the estimated one in four households affected by family caregiving.

Caregivers provide billions of dollars in services every year, keeping the burden off of senior centers and retirement homes and giving the elderly a better life in their final years than they could hope for in an assisted living facility. And in return, they get the thanks of their loved one and once a year the President stands up and says "oh, by the way, you did good - here's a month for you."

We have enough National 'whatever' months, we need to give some help to the people that provide care for the elderly.

I work day in and day out 24 hours a day with no break and was told point blank to my face by a social services worker that they would not help me unless "I came back either pregnant or Mexican" (yes those were her exact words).

The U.S. government tosses billions of dollars a year into care for people in other countries, but leaves those who served in past wars to grow old and die away from those they love because the U.S. government will only pay non-family members to provide care.

It is time to stop forcing our elderly to live in nursing homes that abuse and neglect them. Time to stop forcing them to live in nursing homes that would rather murder them than evacuate them from a flooding area. Our elderly deserve better, but their family can not do it without help and support. Please, write to your congressman and ask them to support bills such as H.R. 175, the National Family Caregiver Security Act of 2005, that help family caregivers be paid as nurses.

Thank you.