Describes Respite Program which provided 4 weeks inpatient care over one year to frail older veterans who lived with unpaid caregiver. Program personnel taught 850 families health care delivery skills needed to maintain a disabled person at home and how to build community support systems. Program prevented inappropriate placement by providing…

Reports on the development and implementation of an in-home respite program using trained volunteers to provide at-home companionship and supervision for frail elderly persons while family members are absent. Project RENEW volunteers and families are described, and a discussion of difficulties and future directions is presented. (Author)

Describes Wanderer's Lounge, program developed by one nursing home to provide activities to benefit Alzheimer's victims and at the same time provide respite for more alert residents and staff on their units. The program and its benefits are discussed. (Author)

Describes the Potteries Elderly Support Group, a small-scale, locally based initiative in England, which relieves relatives, one day a week, of some of the pressures associated with caring for an elderly mentally infirm person. Details the rationale for the group and describes how it has been funded, staffed, and operated. (JAC)

Respite and in-home services have been identified by caregivers as vital for maintaining a frail older person in the community. A program called The Alzheimer Support/Tender Loving Caregivers Project was undertaken in northwest Indiana to strengthen the informal support network of disabled elderly in the community. An interfaith coalition of…

Examines issues and special problems of older women caring for disabled spouses. Describes a multiservice project designed to provide support and respite for this high-risk group of caregivers. Implications for policy and practice are discussed with recommendations for further study. (RC)

Caregiver education and support programs help decrease the stress and burden on family caregivers of the elderly. This directory profiles 72 programs for caregivers of elders. Programs are grouped into the categories of education, respite, and support. Education programs address skills and techniques for caregiving and include program…