FORUM ]
'Sandwich Generation' can get assistance
with juggling caregiving for parents, family
When the phone rang in
her home one summer after
noon, Monica knew all too
well about the life changes
that some phone calls can
bring. A few years earlier,
shortly after her husband
Bob's retirement, they
- received a call from the fam
ily doctor, advising Bob to
report immediately to tne local hospital, only days after a
routine physical examination. Bob had been diagnosed
with Multiple Myeloma and passed away within a year.
This time the call came from Monica's father's doctor.
The diagnosis was in and Joe, her dad, had Alzheimer's.
The long road of family caregiving began anew.
Within the next five years, all of Joe's savings, accu
mulated over 60 years, were depleted and the financial
burden on Monica and her family had become staggering,
as they not only cared for Joe but also his wife, Helen,
who was living with mini-strokes. How do 1 know so
much about this family? Because Monica is my mother.
Gary
Barg
Guest
| Columnist
j*.. i . .? i
Before you think that my family's situation is unique,
consider the fact that, at present, there are more than 1.7
million family caregivers in North Carolina. These care
givers are responsible for the well-being of their loved
ones who need care. They are also commonly referred to
as the "Sandwich Generation" due to the fact that they
find themselves sandwiched between responsibilities to
parents, children, grandchildren and spouses. Recently
the recognition of multi-generational caregiving has been
extended to include the phrase "Club Sandwich
Generation" referring to the fact that caregiving can
include members of more than three generations.
But no matter what disease or illness their loved ones
face, the most important thing for a caregiver to remember
is not to isolate themselves from their fellow caregivers.
Every conversation that family caregivers have with one
another is an opportunity to pick up an important piece of
the caregiving puzzle. These conversations happen in a
pharmacy waiting line, an emergency waiting room, or at
a caregiving conference. Every caregiver's experience
brings critical knowledge for successfully navigating the
journey of caregiving. Caregivers are eager to share solu
tiqns. How did they get dad to agree to stop driving?
How do they find respite in their hectic day? Where did
they find assistance to keep dad at home for as long as
possible? What should you do about incontinence?
Caregiver conference
?Want answers? Ask the experts - your fellow care
givers - at the Fearless Caregiver Conference on June 9,
from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Village Inn Event
Center, 6205 Ramada Drive, Clemmons. This is hosted by
Gary Barg and co-sponsored by the Piedmont Triad
Regional Council Area Agency on Aging.
?Complimentary registration will be provided to fam
ily caregivers for the event. To register, call 877-829
2734 or online at www.Caregiver.com
Gary Barg is founder and editor-in-chief of Today's
Caregiver magazine and www.Caregiver.com as well as
the author of the books "The Fearless Caregiver" and
"Caregiving Ties thafBind."
Loretta Lynch of Durham came from a family of activists
Benjamin
Chavis
Guest
Columnist
After a 166-day partisan
political struggle in the U.S.
Senate to confirm the first Bladk
American woman to be the attor
ney general of the United States,
finally on the afternoon of
Thursday, April 23, history was
made. Loretta Elizabeth Lynch
has was confirmed by the Senate
by a vote of 56 to 43 after being
nominated last year by President
Barack Obama. [She was sworn
in on Monday, April 27.]
1 have known the Lynch fam
ily for a long time in Durham,
N.C., where Loretta Lynch's
father, the Rev. Lorenzo Lynch
Sr., served faithfully as the senior
pastor of the legendary White
Rock Baptist Church from 1965
to 1993. Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. gave one his fambus sermons
in 1960 at the White Rock Baptist
Church, titled, "Fill Up the Jails,"
that encouraged nonviolent civil
disobedience as the strategic tac
tic to advance civil rights.
Loretta Lynch, in addition to
being well qualified to be the
attorney general of the United
States as an accomplished federal
prosecutor and legal scholar, also
comes from a strong Black
American family that has made
outstanding contributions and
sacrifices toward the progress of
Black America for over four gen
erations in North Carolina and
throughout the nation.
President Obama made the
right decision at the right time
concerning Loretta Lynch. The
baton is being passed now from
Attorney General Eric Holder,
who did an outstanding job as the
first Black American to be attor
ney general, to Loretta Lynch at a
time when rampant racially moti
v'ated police killings of Black
people across the nation is esca
lating.
In addition to critical issues of
ending police racial profiling and
the unlawful use of deadly force
against Black Americans, die new
attorney general will have to con
front the growing unconstitution
al measures by many state legis
latures to suppress and deny the
voting rights of Black Americans
in particular. Attorney General
Lynch will have to help lead the
way back to Congress restoring
Section 4 of the Voting Rights
Act of 1965 that the, U.S.
Supreme Court invalidated.
Racial discrimination in hous
ing, health care delivery, mass
incarceration, bank lending poli
cies, access to wealth, environ
mental protection, public educa
tion, and unjust policies in higher
education opportunities for disad
vantaged college students all are
crucial matters that Attorney
General Lynch will have to con
front. I am confident, however,
given Lynch's proven track
record of rising to the occasion in
demanding that justice is done,
that she will do well going for
ward.
I wish I could say that I was
surprised to see that the two
Republican Senators from North
Carolina, Richard Barr anjd
Thorn Tillis, both voted against
Lynch, even though they knew of
her qualifications and track
record of leadership. The attacks
on President Obama and on
Loretta Lynch were not just polit
ically motivated. I believe that
these attacks were are also racial
ly motivated.
Lezli Baskerville, noted
lawyer and president and CEO of
the National Association for
Equal Opportunity in Higher
Education (NAFEO) stated, "The
confirmation of U.S. Attorney
Lynch comes at a time when
leadership from the Attorney
General and the Department's
Educational Opportunities
Section is essential to ensuring
that states that maintain a higher
education system with both pub
lic historically black colleges and
universities (HBCUs) and histor
ically white colleges and univer
sities (HWCUs) invest in HBCUs
such that they are comparable to
and competitive with HWCUs
relative to their missions." The
past and present racial inequities
in education in America have to
be challenged anew.
Racism persists in America in
part because it is not called out
enough. Yes, we have made
progress toward racial equality
and justice. But we are not there
yet. We have not reached the fin
ish line to end racial injustice and
inequality. We still have not over
come and we must remain vigi
lant and vocal in the quest for
freedom, justice and equality.
We, therefore congratulate
Attorney General Loretta Lynch
and wish her all the best. It will
not be easy, but we know and
believe that more great achieve
ment and national leadership are
on the horizon of the future.
Thank you, Sister Lynch, for
making history and for continu
ing to make a difference.
Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is the
president and CEO of the
National Newspaper Publishers
Association (NNPA) and can be
reached at: http.J/drbenjamin
fchavisjr.wix.com/drbfc.
"The attacks on President Obama and on Loretta
Lynch were not just politically motivated. I believe
that these attacks were are also racially motivated."
-Benjamin Chavis
* ULmj wuiitjj w.UK L.7B.H wiiiiy
Pictured is the Lynch family in a portrait from 1980 that shows Loretta, her parents and sib
lings in their Durham, N.C., home.
Young Democrats: McCrory's policies hurting Forsyth Tech
Colby
Moore
Guest
Columnist
Trent
Harmon
Guest
Columnist
The idea that Forsyth
Technical Community
College would invite Gov.
Pat McCrory to give its
commencement speech is
both disheartening and
concerning.
Governor McCrory's
tenure as governor has
been marred with contro
versies and failed policies,
which have been especially
burdensome for young
North Carolinians. The
immense damage that
Governor McCrory and the
North Carolina General
Assembly have done to
higher education in recent
years makes it deeply
offensive that he will be
addressing a graduating
class filled with those who
are suffering the conse
quences of his "leader
ship."
The UNC system and
our community college
system has long been the
envy of the country. Our
state has long been
renowned for its centers of
higher education that
attract some of the greatest
minds in the country. But
instead of bolstering these
universities and communi
ty colleges, the state has
decimated these schools
with budget cuts of almost
$200 million since 2012
and instituted tuition
increases across the board.
The UNC system is so
damaged that it will take
years. and possibly
decades, to undo all the
devastation wrought by
YwafDNMcratsaf
FtfsythCwnty
Governor McCrory and the
GOP-controlled legisla
ture. In particular, Forsyth
Tech students have seen
significant tuition increases
and budget cuts, all while
many of their instructors
are currently surviving on
poverty-line level wages.
Governor McCrory and
the Republicans in Raleigh
have consistently hurt the
1,100 students that will be
graduating on May 7
[today], along with the
1,500 people that Forsyth
Tech employs. These stu
dents and instructors not
only worry about their
school work, but also worry
every day about making
ends meet and being able to
provide for their families
and own well being.
Students have had to make
sacrifices for their educa
tion in order to forge a path
toward a future that will
make them proud. Their
instructors come to work
every day, not only to make
a living, but also to inspire
their students and make the
world a better place. sYet
when we open the newspa
per, go on Twitter, or watch
the news, we see time and
time again how the North
Carolina General Assembly
and the Governor continue
to make those students'
lives harder.
Whether it's opposing
their ability to receive qual
ity health care, cutting
funding for early childhood
education and our schools,
or refusing to institute a liv
ing wage to help raise peo
ple out of poverty, it has
become more and more
clear that the Governor's
policies are not what our
generation needs. Our gen
eration needs policies that
will improve our state and
help build a stronger North
Carolina.
We must embrace the
growth and development
that the future holds and
quit electing officials that
fear progress.
The fundamental root
of the problem is that
Governor McCrory's lead
ership as the chief execu
tive of North Carolina
clashes with Forsyth Tech's
five core values: excel
lence, learning, responsive
ness, diversity and respect.
With so many other elected
officials in Forsyth County
who embody these princi
ples and serve Forsyth Tech
so well, it is disappointing
that our Governor will be
speaking at the commence
ment ceremony.
Colby Moore is presi
dent of the Young
Democrats of Forsyth
County.
Trent Harmon is third
vice chair of the Forsyth
County Democratic Party
McCrory