What's wrong with this picture? 

Throughout our medical system, the family caregiver is, more often than not, the least considered, supported and educated member of a sick person’s medical team, while they are the ones responsible for the daily care and well-being of the patient. It is not uncommon for a person discharged from a hospital facility to go to the bottom of the social services list because they have a family caregiver, placing yet more stress and burden on the caregiver. Why is it that people are actually dying to take care of their loved ones?

Facts – 

• Caregiving now compares to motherhood 35 years ago, when getting pregnant meant leaving work without any paid maternity leave or job security on return.
• The health, well-being and education of Caregivers is the key to cost containment and health care reform!
• While the implementation of provisions in health care reform that would benefit Caregivers is stalled in legal and political process, services and support are drying up, even as the number of Caregivers continues to rise.
• In 1948, the United Nations passed the Declaration of Human Rights.  We believe that Article 23, the right to work; Article 24, the right to rest & leisure; and Article 25, the right to an adequate standard of living could and should apply to family caregivers.

Our Mission –

    To create, promote and foster legislative policy to achieve legal international human rights protection for family caregivers.

Our Vision –

    Creation of a global community that works together to protect the human rights of family carers/caregivers and that advocates on their behalf.

Our Goals – 

• To engender a consistent statutory definition of a caregiver into our culture and legislative policy
• To convene periodic summits of key players to advance this cause
• To engage the international caregiving community in an exchange of ideas
• To frame and implement the means by which human rights protections can be effected

Click here for the article “Caregiving – A Human Rights Issue” by Marian Sherratt, M.A.

It’s up to us to change the system. Join us... we can make the difference.

You can begin by signing up for our newsletter, sharing your personal caregiving stories and providing input and feedback on our Bill of Human Rights for Caregivers. We will email you a copy on receipt of your email.

You may email us at caregiverrights@aol.com

Steering Committee 

Lucy Barylak, MSW has a Master’s degree in Social Work from McGill University. She is the manager of the Caregiver Support Centre and Henri Bradet Day Centre of the CSSS Cavendish in Montreal, Canada. Each of these programs involves research, teaching, publishing, and transference of knowledge, community outreach and supervision of students.

Gail Hunt is President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, a non-profit coalition dedicated to conducting research and developing national programs for family caregivers and the professionals who serve them.  Prior to heading NAC, Ms. Hunt was President of her own aging services consulting firm for 14 years. She conducted corporate eldercare research for the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration, developed training for caregivers with AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association, and designed a corporate eldercare program for EAPs with the Employee Assistance Professional Association.  Prior to having her own firm, she was Senior Manager in charge of human services for the Washington, DC, office of KPMG Peat Marwick.  Ms. Hunt attended Vassar College and graduated from Columbia University in New York.  In May of 2004, she was appointed by the White House to serve on the Policy Committee for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. Ms. Hunt is on the Advisory Panel on Medicare Education. She is the incoming chair for the National Center on Senior Transportation. Ms. Hunt is also on the Board of Commissioners for the Center for Aging Service Technology and she is also on the steering committee for Long-Term Care Quality Assurance.

Dr. James D. (Jamie) Huysman, LCSW, CAP, is a leading authority and speaker on caregiver burnout, compassion fatigue and addictions.  He believes in the resilience of the human spirit and is dedicated to uplifting, inspiring and supporting all those in Family or Professional First Responder™ roles, encompassing paid, uniformed and family caregivers alike.  He serves on the steering committee of an International Human Rights for Caregivers initiative – www.CaregiverRightsNOW.org – and sat on the NASW committee to establish national protocols for certification and standardization of caregiving practices, released in November of 2010.   He created the Leeza's Place program, a psycho-social, community drop in model providing free services and support for family caregivers on behalf of the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, which he co-founded in 2002.  In 2008 he was honored as the NASW Florida State Social Worker of the Year. His website is www.drjamie.com.

Rosemary Laird, MD - Gerontologist is the founding Medical Director of the Health First Aging Institute located in Melbourne, Florida. Established in 2002, the Aging Institute sponsors clinics for geriatric consultation, memory loss and primary care, and educational and support programs for caregivers. Dr. Laird received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago. She completed a Geriatric Fellowship and received a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Kansas.



Marian Sherratt, MA is the founding Executive Director of the Bermuda Council on Ageing, President of her social research and consulting firm SORCOS, and a partner in Myera, Inc., a global provider of lifestyle and retirement workshops. Marian obtained her Masters degree as a Killam Scholar from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, focusing on issues of work, identity and caregiving in an advanced political economy. She is passionate about bringing support to the informal, unpaid, family caregiver and works at all levels—legislation, policy, awareness, education, programs and best practices—to achieve this end. Marian is also a published author, writes a monthly column for Bermuda’s daily newspaper, and gives presentations at every opportunity to build awareness of the social and economic impact of an ageing population.

Lisa Alter Winstel has 18 years of experience in non-profit management and development positions. Her senior management experience enhances her ability to approach development and organizational planning and execution from a strategic perspective. Lisa has secured and managed $1 million+ in government grants and managed a multi-year seven-figure grant from The Kresge Foundation.

As the Chief Operating Officer of National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) Ms Winstel is responsible for strengthening the organization’s infrastructure, administering programs and developing new program initiatives. She plays a leadership role in strategic planning, analysis and fundraising. She oversees design, marketing, promotion, delivery, quality and outcomes of programs and services. She manages communications standards and the development of materials and messages for the organization. She has established and implemented the successful Corporate Leadership Council. She is currently finalizing plans for a social enterprise unit that incorporates the current NFCA volunteer network into an enhanced grassroots volunteer movement.

Her professional affiliations include; National Senior Corps National Advisory Council, Human Rights for Caregivers Steering Committee, PALS (Patient Advocate Leadership Summit), Power of Partnering, Long Term Care Discussion Group and the CMS Caregiver Workgroup.

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