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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

I Heart Caregivers: Spotlighting Those Who Help Others in MO

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Wednesday, November 19, 2014   

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - They are unsung heroes: hundreds of thousands of Missourians who do double duty caring for aging or ill parents, spouses, or loved ones. But there are financial and emotional price tags, which is why AARP Missouri wants to connect caregivers with tools to help them.

State director Craig Eichelman says there is a silent army of Missourians who do what they can to help loved ones, all while attending to their own lives and jobs.

"I don't think a lot of caregivers think of themselves as caregivers," says Eichelman. "'I'm just taking care of Mom.' 'I'm just taking Dad to the barber.' 'I'm just helping him get dressed in the morning.' In Missouri, there's a little over 800,000 people who can be called caregivers."

In honor of National Caregivers Month, AARP Missouri is spotlighting caregiving resources at a new website. Caregivers and others can log on to share stories and find support at "AARP.org/iheartcaregivers."

Eichelman says the majority of Missourians will be caregivers at some point in their lives. While every situation is different, he says the average caregiver is a 49-year-old woman taking care of an elderly parent, providing 20 hours of unpaid care per week and often forced to make tough choices.

"Some are on call for 24 hours, seven days a week," says Eichelman. "So, you think of folks in the prime of their work-earning life who are leaving the workforce to take care of an aging parent."

AARP Missouri estimates the value of the unpaid work provided by family caregivers across the state at roughly $8 billion a year. That includes managing medications, finances, bathing and dressing, meal preparation, transportation, grocery shopping, and much more for their loved ones.


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