How to Best Support Caregivers with Savy Makalena

🎙️ Caregivers are not only an under-served community, they are a non-served community. How is it possible that the people who take care of our ailing and elderly populations, can be so thoroughly forgotten and neglected? Luckily, there are solutions and people are working on ways to better support our society's caregivers.

✨ In this conversation Savy Makalena, CEO and Founder of "Gimme a Break", shares the story of how she was lead through her caregiving journey to creating the caregiver support organization known as "Gimme a Break", a nonprofit dedicated to supporting caregivers by offering them emotional and physical respite, as well as, valuable resources for sustained well-being.

🧡 Savy shares her personal caregiving journey, the struggles caregivers face, and the inspiration behind her mission.

 🏛️ We'll also dive into the financial challenges affecting caregivers, an innovative Bill proposal to support them financially through the unemployment system, and the importance of self-care and mindful moments in the caregiving journey. Whether you're a caregiver or know someone who is, this episode is packed with invaluable insights and resources.

📻 Stay tuned to learn how you can get involved and support this critical cause!

In this episode they covered:

🔹 Broadening the Definition of Caregiving

🔹 "Gimme a Break" Inspiration

🔹 Financial Struggles of Caregivers

🔹 Legislation and Support Systems

🔹 Important Conversations About Future Care

🔹 Accessing Resources

🔹 Mindful Moments and Self-Care

🔹 The Role of Community and Support Networks

🔹 Challenges in Balancing Caregiving and Employment

🔹 Future Planning for Caregiving

📽️ To watch this episode: https://youtu.be/XUMDs-K3qrU

🔗 For more information about Savy Makalena and "Gimme a Break", please visit:

📲 https://gab808.org

📲 https://www.facebook.com/gab808

📲 https://www.linkedin.com/company/gab808

📲 https://www.youtube.com/@gimmeabreak808

#SavyMakalena #KellyAugspurger #gab808 #GimmeABreak #SteadfastCarePlanning

For additional information about Kelly, check her out on Linkedin or www.SteadfastAgents.com.

To explore your options for long-term care insurance, click here.

Steadfast Care Planning podcast is made possible by Steadfast Insurance LLC,
Certification in Long Term Care, and AMADA Senior Care Columbus.

Come back next time for more helpful guidance!

Chapters

• 0:13 Introduction
• 0:50 You are a caregiver if you take care of people, pets, or plants.
• 1:51 I want our listeners to know, tell us about "Gimme a Break". I know it's a nonprofit. We're supporting caregivers. Why did you start "Gimme a Break", Savy?
• 2:09 Savy's caregiving journey. Her whole life has been caregiving.
• 3:11 Savy always tells people that I went into 9 months of depression and I gave birth to a mission.
• 4:01 How are caregivers affected financially? Like what kind of financial concerns do they have and what can be done to support them?
• 5:28 Going to the National Caregiving Summit every year, and I am going again this year. And last year when I was talking to legislators, I pitched to the idea that there's a way to pay caregivers now without having to take time to develop any other systems.
• 5:48 Savy has a Bill that didn't quite make it to the floor last year. So we're really advocating for this year. And that's basically just to make a small little tweak to the current unemployment system to get caregivers paid.
• 6:20 When asked if available to work caregivers must say. "No". Bill is asking that with that "No", there's just one more line added, "Are you currently caregiving?" And if that can be approved, then they can qualify. Which puts them in the system.
• 7:26 How to support Savy's Bill.
• 7:36 Savy's website has an advocacy page to sign and share your support for the Bill.
• 8:10 Why have we never thought of this solution before? To get caregivers paid through unemployment is so simple but has been totally overlooked.
• 9:20 When the Bill gets passed, then we can go in and look at a long-term solution and set up a whole system for that and try to find funding for it, rather than trying to get all of that done first.
• 10:06 AMADA Senior Care Commercial
• 10:37 And so with this Bill, Savy, how could caregivers prove that they're caregiving? Have you addressed that portion of the Bill? Like, what kind of documents do you think would able to be provided in order to prove that?
• 11:35 I think that that's all in the immediate to get it going that we need and then fine tune it later. I think that if we lose sight of why the Bill is here, the Bill is here because care caregivers are becoming a burden to society.
• 12:21 If a family has a long-term care insurance policy for mom and dad, okay, are those benefits, are they paid out in cash? Because if they are, those family caregivers can get paid. If it's a cash indemnity policy, they can get paid to provide that care.
• 13:15 Caregivers need to think about their care receiving plan. Because if you don't do something about that now, you're not going to be able to have that, and somebody else is going to be in the same shoes as you.
• 14:42 We want to create a plan now of who's going to provide care, where we want to receive care and how we're going to pay for that care.
• 15:46 It's really important because if you start talking about long-term care insurance, that just starts the ball rolling on so many other conversations that need to happen.
• 16:16 What kind of resources outside of the financial that we've just talked about are most helpful for caregivers?
• 16:28 Go to their Office of Elderly Affairs in their state, there's a myriad of wonderful resources.
• 17:13 And if you're having a hard time, of course contact "Gimme a Break". We can help you.
• 18:12 National Alliance of Caregiving, NAC. Go online to their website. Just type in "caregiver support" to Google.
• 18:38 Stop asking for help. You're the CEO of this journey. So delegate the help that you need and tell people, "I need this, you need to find me this," and get that information and get that support that you need.
• 19:00 The CLTC Commercial
• 19:30 The importance of really taking a respite for caregivers, because you see this on a day to day basis. Like what, practically, might that look like for caregivers to take a break?
• 20:20 We teach caregivers how to embrace that moment, how to have that mindful moment. And that moment could be anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 minutes. And in that time doing that more often throughout the day.
• 21:11 Delegating support. Where you go from that slave mentality, "I'm a slave to caregiving" to the "I'm the CEO of this caregiving journey."
• 22:19 Savy's classes and support groups are online. They're all virtual. Everything's online. "Gimme a Break" has been online since they started.
• 23:04 Caregivers are even using apps, or technology to help them during those mindful moments.
• 23:23 The Calm app.
• 23:52 Schedule 3 times during the day at any time you want, and then entitle it "Breathe".
• 25:00 It's all about the mindset that you create and that you perpetuate.
• 25:42 Try to pull the memories of when the times were good. And so if you have more of those memories than the bad memories, then that'll be a better way to heal.
• 26:16 Plan for your care receiving plan. Reach out, get the support. There is support there. They can always contact us. There are a lot of other wonderful agencies.
• 27:00 "Gimme a Break "website, which is G-A-B, as in "Gimme A Break". www.gab808.org

Transcript

Kelly Augspurger [00:00:02]:
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Steadfast Care Planning, where we plan for care to live well. I'm Kelly Augspurger, long-term care insurance specialist, and your guide. With me today is Savy Makalena, caregiver, CEO, and founder of "Gimme a Break", a nonprofit whose mission is to care for caregivers by giving an emotional and physical break, as well as, resources for continued well being. Savy, thanks so much for being here.

Savy Makalena [00:00:28]:
It's my honor, Kelly, mahalo. Thank you so much for having me on. Really appreciate it.

Kelly Augspurger [00:00:34]:
Absolutely excited about our episode today. We're going to be talking about caregiving and how we can best support caregivers. So can we jump right in?

Savy Makalena [00:00:42]:
Yeah, absolutely.

Kelly Augspurger [00:00:43]:
Okay. Well, Savy, offline we've had a conversation and one of the things that you said to me, which has really stuck with me, is that you are a caregiver if you take care of people, pets, or plants.

Savy Makalena [00:00:57]:
Yeah, I absolutely promote that all the time. And I think that it's broadening the definition of caregiver so that people understand just how vast the world of caregiving is and that how many people are at risk to survive caregiving in that journey and to have that empathy to understand what that means. Sometimes people say, "Well, I don't take care of anyone." "Do you like to garden?" "Yeah, I love to do this." I say, well, people, pets and plants. So if a plant dies, you take it emotionally, right? You've invested time into it. You water it, you get it to grow. Same thing with a pet.

Savy Makalena [00:01:33]:
They become family. So I really do broaden that definition just because of creating that understanding, that association, that empathy that people have to have.

Kelly Augspurger [00:01:44]:
Well, I love it. I'm going to be using that from now on. So thank you very much. Thank you, Savy. So I'd love to know, and I want our listeners to know, tell us about "Gimme a Break". I know it's a nonprofit. We're supporting caregivers. Why did you start "Gimme a Break", Savy?

Savy Makalena [00:02:00]:
Oh, well, just my caregiving journey. My whole life, I basically have been a caregiver. I took care of my mother when I was young and she was a Japanese national. She didn't speak a lot of English.

Savy Makalena [00:02:10]:
And I had to translate things for her and I had to read recipes for her and write checks for her. And of course, I got to write all of my school notes so I have no unexcused absences, which is a wonderful thing. Not that I ever abused that.

Kelly Augspurger [00:02:26]:
Never.

Savy Makalena [00:02:28]:
But I've always kind of been a caregiver. As a mother as a grandmother, I still am a mother and a grandmother. And of course, I more recently took care of both my parents. My father passed away a year and a half into caring for him from a stroke. And of course I now realize that he passed from caregiver burnout. And my mother is in her final stage of dementia now. I'm also taking care currently of my mother-in-law and my better half is going through cancer. So yes, I am a caregiver and my journey has been very hard.

Savy Makalena [00:02:57]:
When I was caring for my mother and her dementia, I became exhausted. I became...oh, just...it was horrible. I was very emotionally depressed. I had to place her in care and she reached a level of care that I could no longer do, I could no longer handle. And I was required to place her into care. And that was one of the hardest things I did.

Savy Makalena [00:03:18]:
And I went into depression. I was suicidal. I didn't want to live anymore. I was over it. And I know a lot of caregivers relate to this. And so for 9 months I mulled around thinking, how am I going to kill myself? How am I going to get rid of all these feelings? How am I going to come to terms with this? And so I always tell people that I went into 9 months of depression and I gave birth to a mission. And a light bulb went off in my head and I said, "No caregiver should ever have to feel like this, should ever have to go through a journey like this and I'm going to do something about it." And that was when we gave birth to "Gimme a Break".

Kelly Augspurger [00:03:53]:
Such a beautiful story where you've taken your mess, essentially, and turned it into your message and your mission. Yeah, Savy, tell us, we know caregivers have a lot of responsibilities and concerns. How are caregivers affected financially? Like what kind of financial concerns do they have and what can be done to support them?

Savy Makalena [00:04:12]:
Way too many financial concerns. So when I first started "Gimme a Break" 4 years ago, the statistic was that 65% of caregivers lose their jobs, they lose their source of income due to the weight of caregiving, and either they have to quit their job and give it up, or they actually get terminated, believe it or not, for not keeping up. I was one of those. I was terminated. I no longer fit the program. I wasn't putting in 80 hours a week. I was only putting in 50. You know, it didn't fit. So it's funny, but because you lose your income, then financially, it's just a big struggle.

Savy Makalena [00:04:44]:
There's nothing you can do. You have to live off of the person you're caring for and if they're on Social Security, or if they have whatever assets. So I even used up all of my savings. I cashed in all of my IRA's, 401K's. There was nothing. Everything went and then of course, I took care of my parents and their resources, had to move in with them. Lost my job, I lost my home, and I became a caregiver.

Savy Makalena [00:05:08]:
And my story, I'm not alone. It's a story that a lot of caregivers will tell you. They're all struggling. Some actually have to go on assistance of some kind. And so it's a really tough financial situation out there. And I know that there are currently a lot of different ways that we're looking to subsidize caregivers. I actually go to the National Caregiving Summit every year, and I am going again this year. And last year when I was talking to legislators, I pitched to the idea that there's a way to pay caregivers now without having to take time to develop any other systems.

Savy Makalena [00:05:41]:
We can use the current system that we have. And so I have a Bill that didn't quite make it to the floor last year. So we're really advocating for this year. And that's basically just to make a small little tweak to the current unemployment system. The unemployment system is to provide you finances until you can get placement. A caregiver cannot place themselves until their journey has ended. So the question comes up and says, "Are you available for work?" No caregiver can honestly answer that with a "Yes". Every caregiver has to honestly answer that as "No" and therefore won't qualify.

Savy Makalena [00:06:15]:
So my Bill is asking that with that "No", there's just one more line added, "Are you currently caregiving?" And if that can be approved, then they can qualify. What that also does is it puts them in the system. The hardest thing when you come out of caregiving is the depression, the PTSD, all of those feelings that you're dealing with. You've gained weight, you've been out of the workforce. The hardest thing to do is to find a job. Well, almost every unemployment system has a placement service. And so that puts them in the system to get help, get placement when the time comes.

Savy Makalena [00:06:45]:
And they say, "Okay, I'm ready to work now. Help me find a job." And they get support. And so that's what the bill is, and that's what we're trying to get through. And hopefully this year, we'll be able to promote that and really make a difference. But either way, I know that there are a lot of people out there who are addressing caregivers and trying to get some sort of a system out there. And some states do have help and support. So the first thing I tell people is to check with your state, go to the Office of Elderly Affairs, check with your local office, and see what sort of programs they may, or may not have.

Savy Makalena [00:07:18]:
And then in the meantime, support this Bill.

Kelly Augspurger [00:07:22]:
And how do we support the Bill, Savy?

Savy Makalena [00:07:24]:
So in about another couple of weeks, probably before the end of September, but guaranteed by the beginning of October, our website will have an advocacy page. And on that advocacy page, you'll be able to join and sign, put your signature in, and show your support to that Bill. And then when I go to Capitol Hill this year in November, I'm taking that with me. So hopefully that'll put some strength behind what we do nationally as well as locally here in Hawaii.

Kelly Augspurger [00:07:52]:
Fantastic. So by the time this airs, hopefully you'll have that up on your website, because I don't anticipate this airing right away, Savy. So everybody out there that's listening, go to Savy's website, which she's going to give us the details of at the end of our episode, but go there, support that Bill so we can get caregivers paid through unemployment. This is an innovative yet simple way to get caregivers paid. It is out of the box thinking, but at the same time, Savy, it's like, "Duh, how have we not thought about this book before?"

Savy Makalena [00:08:22]:
I know I was speaking to some of the senators last year, and they were like, "Oh, my God, write a Bill. This is such a great idea." And I thought, I know this seems really simplistic, and probably you'll pass this off, but I just wanted to throw this idea out to pay caregivers. And they were blown away. And so sometimes I think that you can't see the forest for the trees. When you're really in it and you're facing all of these things. And it was really ironic that at that time last year, a lot of senators were on the floor, and in between, we were meeting with them and they were passing Bills, and, you know, they're one Bill after another Bill after another Bill after...And I could...I get it.

Savy Makalena [00:08:57]:
They work very hard, and I know that it's hard to see that. And so here's something that's so simple. It seems like it's too simple. And so it really is. And so it's just really a small thing, an adjustment that can be made and we can start getting caregivers paid. And once we do that, then we can go in and look at a long-term solution and set up a whole system for that and try to find funding for it, rather than trying to get all of that done first. And in the meantime, 50% of all caregivers are not going to survive their journey.

Kelly Augspurger [00:09:30]:
Right.

Savy Makalena [00:09:30]:
They're going to pass before the one they're caring for because they're not even going to make their journey. They're not getting enough support.

Kelly Augspurger [00:09:36]:
Yeah. Financially and physically and emotionally. We know it's very difficult on caregivers to be a caregiver. It is a big task. And they can't do it alone and thrive.

Savy Makalena [00:09:48]:
Right.

Kelly Augspurger [00:09:48]:
I think so many caregivers are just trying to survive, just trying to make it through the day so that they can care for their loved one, whoever that person is, and also take care of themselves and their own families.

Savy Makalena [00:10:00]:
Yeah.

Kelly Augspurger [00:10:01]:
That's a really big tall order. The Steadfast Care Planning podcast is sponsored by AMADA Senior Care. AMADA provides complimentary consultation with a senior care advisor to find the right care from in home caregiving to community care, as well as long-term care insurance claim advocacy and unique support partnerships for financial advisors to address family transitions and generational retention. To learn more, visit www.SteadfastWithAmada.com. And so with this Bill, Savy, how could caregivers prove that they're caregiving? Have you addressed that portion of the Bill? Like, what kind of documents do you think would able to be provided in order to prove that?

Savy Makalena [00:10:46]:
Well, I have suggested that a doctor's document, so a doctor can write a letter. You know, I mean, it's really funny for the person that you're caring for, for instance, when my mother was diagnosed with dementia and I tried to get support for her, all I needed was a doctor to write a letter that says she was diagnosed with dementia. And all the doors opened. I had all of these different things I could find. And people said, "Oh, your mother has dementia." Before that it was hearsay. So it could just be as simple as a doctor's note stating that you are the caregiver either full-time or part-time and so, if that needs to be validated by two people, or a second person, or a second authority, then fine.

Savy Makalena [00:11:31]:
I think that that's all in the immediate to get it going that we need and then fine tune it later. I think that if we lose sight of why the Bill is here, the Bill is here because care caregivers are becoming a burden to society. They're not contributing anymore, they're not working, in that sense. And I don't mean that in a negative way. I mean that in the sense that they're forgotten. I always talk about the world has so many underserved communities. I get that caregivers are a non-served community.

Savy Makalena [00:12:01]:
We assume that because they're caregivers they can care for themselves and they can't. So we need to address a non-served community and get them at least to an underserved status, and then we can talk about how we can better that.

Kelly Augspurger [00:12:16]:
Yeah, I think another important thing to think about, too, is if a client, if a family has a long-term care insurance policy for mom and dad, okay, are those benefits, are they paid out in cash? Because if they are, those family caregivers can get paid. If it's a cash indemnity policy, they can get paid to provide that care. So if your mom or dad have a policy, make sure you're asking, is this reimbursement where we need to pay professionals to do this? Or is it cash, or is it even a portion that can be paid out in cash? Because if so, guess what? I, as a family caregiver, I can get paid based on that.

Savy Makalena [00:12:51]:
Yes, absolutely. And I completely support that. By the way. I want to just interject that and I apologize for interrupting you because this is a big subject that I talk about with caregivers at our support group all the time, is that unfortunately there may not always be time to assure that the one you're caring for has the correct life insurance policy, or has the correct long-term care policy. They may, or may not. So what are you going to do about you? And so caregivers need to think about their care receiving plan and part of that care receiving plan needs to do something about that now. Because if you don't do something about that now, you're not going to be able to have that, and somebody else is going to be in the same shoes as you. And so I put the onus on caregivers to change the generations to come.

Savy Makalena [00:13:37]:
To have conversations, to be more transparent, to talk about financial matters, to talk about their insurance matters, to be more open to talking to people about that. Because if we don't change that, then generation after generation is going to get worse. So we need to be the ones to change things in this generation for ourselves, for our care receiving, and to think about that and to know that's a good thing.

Kelly Augspurger [00:14:00]:
I totally agree. I can't tell you how many clients of mine, maybe they're in that sandwich generation where they've got maybe adult kids, but they're still kind of caring for them in a sense. Maybe they're still on payroll, if you will, but yet they're also caregiving to their parents who might be in their 80s. And so they're in the middle, but yet maybe mom and dad, or grandparents don't want to talk about their finances. They come from a generation where, "We don't share that information with our family, or our kids." It's like a, "No, no, you know, we don't talk about that." Whereas others are a little more open. But a lot of times I see those adult kids, those parents, where it's, "Hey, we want to be open with our kids.

Kelly Augspurger [00:14:37]:
We want to create a plan now of who's going to provide care, where I want to receive care and how I'm going to pay for that care. So my kids, you know, the grandkids, if you will, are better protected. And we have a plan and we know what we're going to do." Now that plan might change over time because we don't know exactly what's going to happen in the future, but at least we have a base plan. Right. And so we can pivot from that. But if you're not talking about it, they don't know what you want, they don't know what you have, they don't know where your stuff is, who your people are that you need to contact.

Kelly Augspurger [00:15:07]:
So get together people and talk.

Savy Makalena [00:15:10]:
Yes. And it's really funny because my father was so prepared, so meticulous, and I had so many conversations with him and I knew where all the paperwork was and what to do. But we never talked about long-term care insurance. And I found out, too, that the life insurance policy that my mother did have had a loan on it. So I didn't know that and I had to surrender that, and so all of these conversations that you think you're having,

Savy Makalena [00:15:37]:
but you're not. And I think that it's really important because if you start talking about long-term care insurance, that just starts the ball rolling on so many other conversations that need to happen. And it really is the foundation. I've just pretty much gotten on my orange crate and preached that to caregivers in this generation that are in my generation that are looking to what is our care receiving plan. And I think that's so important because we're learning the lessons from this generation before, hopefully, and we're gonna make a change.

Kelly Augspurger [00:16:05]:
That's right. So we don't create the same mistakes that already happened in our life, with our family. Well, Savy, what kind of resources outside of the financial that we've just talked about are most helpful for caregivers? And I know there are a lot, so I know we can't talk about all of them, but what are they and where can people access some of them?

Savy Makalena [00:16:23]:
So if they go to their Office of Elderly Affairs in their state, there's a myriad of wonderful resources. And most times those people who are in those departments and who work there have a lot of compassion for caregivers. Almost every state has a caregiving division. And so contact your Office of Elderly Affairs, ask them for caregiver support. And those that work in the caregiver support are usually people who are themselves caregivers, have been in caregiving, who have empathy for them. Now, I can't guarantee that you're not going to have some typical employee who is callous and uncaring. You might get that.

Savy Makalena [00:17:04]:
Then just ask for someone else. But don't give up. And if you're having a hard time, of course contact "Gimme a Break". We can try to help you. I've even helped some caregivers as far as Maryland to find resources in their area. New York, Florida, California, Las Vegas, Denver. I've helped caregivers to locate resources in their area.

Kelly Augspurger [00:17:25]:
Okay.

Savy Makalena [00:17:25]:
I just kind of...

Kelly Augspurger [00:17:25]:
Because you're in Hawaii. I don't think we've actually stated that. I mean, you said, I believe you said, "Aloha" or something like that in the beginning, but anyway. Yes, Savy is in Hawaii, but she can work across the nation.

Savy Makalena [00:17:38]:
Yes, I do try to contact people that I know and see if we can find resources. But on your own, just contact them. I mean, I dream for the day that "Gimme a Break" will be in every neighborhood, every local neighborhood, in every state so that we can guide you because we vet our partners. So I know that 99.9% of all of the resources that we have here in Hawaii are caregivers themselves. They get it. They know what you're going through, so they have empathy. But there's a whole world out there.

Savy Makalena [00:18:08]:
National Alliance of Caregiving, NAC. Go online to their website. Just type in "caregiver support". And you'd be surprised how much actually comes up. It's just that caregivers don't always reach out because we're tired, we're exhausted, we haven't slept, we haven't washed our hair in three weeks. You know, we've taken what I call the spit shower. You just haven't had time and you're cleaning up messes all day long and so I get it. I know, but you have to be able to reach out at some point and delegate the support that you need.

Savy Makalena [00:18:42]:
Stop asking for help. You're the CEO of this journey. So delegate the help that you need and tell people, "I need this, you need to find me this," and get that information and get that support that you need.

Kelly Augspurger [00:18:54]:
The Steadfast Care Planning podcast is sponsored by the Certification for Long-Term Care, CLTC, an in depth training program that gives financial advisors the education and tools they need to discuss extended care planning with their clients. Look for the CLTC designation when choosing an advisor. If you're looking to become a CLTC, enroll in their masterclass and enter "Kelly" in the coupon code field for $200 off. That's a perfect segue to my next question, which is we know that caregivers can be exhausted and worn out, right? That is given. But talk about the importance of really taking a respite for caregivers, because you see this on a day to day basis. Like what, practically, might that look like for caregivers to take a break? Because it's probably different from non-caregivers where what a break might be to them. So what does that look like?

Savy Makalena [00:19:46]:
Well, a typical break for somebody who's not caregiving 24/7 would be planning for your vacation and taking two weeks off and going to your favorite place, or taking a cruise, or it could be going to the gym an hour a day, it could be having a yoga class that you attend and that could be your normal life. A caregiver on the other hand, doesn't have that time. An hour gym, the yoga class, that's not always feasible. And so to start, it's important for caregivers to practice sort of self-care, practice wellness and what we call practicing it in a moment. And so we teach caregivers how to embrace that moment, how to have that mindful moment. And that moment could be anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 minutes. And in that time doing that more often throughout the day. So how can you take a quick meditation for 10 minutes and how can you productively do something to support your emotions and support your moods and support your exhaustion in a moment.

Savy Makalena [00:20:50]:
How can you do all of those things? And so that's kind of step one is once you practice mindful moments and start doing that through the day, then your perspective will start to change and you'll see things a little differently. Then you can kind of move to what I call delegating support. We just talked about this in our support group last night. Where you go from that slave mentality, "I'm a slave to caregiving" to the "I'm the CEO of this caregiving journey." And as the CEO, take charge, control what's yours to control, and delegate. Helpers delegate people to help. It's not about, "Oh, no, it's okay. I'm all right.

Savy Makalena [00:21:30]:
I don't need your help. No, no, no, I got this." You know, and we don't need to be in that mentality. As caregivers, we want to successfully survive this mission. We want to successfully care for the one that we love. And you have to take charge of that. So by taking charge of that and delegating people to help you, you buy yourself time. And maybe you will be able to go on a short vacation, or a short break.

Savy Makalena [00:21:53]:
Maybe you will be able to take more than five minutes a day. Maybe you can get to the point where you can go to a yoga class, but baby steps. And in the meantime, start looking at who you can get to delegate to and get that time. So it's a journey. But we do teach that and we do try to help caregivers to learn how they can do that in baby steps. I invite anyone to come to our sessions. They're open to the public.

Kelly Augspurger [00:22:19]:
Are they virtual, Savy?

Savy Makalena [00:22:20]:
They're all virtual. Everything's online. We've been online since we started. We started just before the pandemic and everyone went online.

Kelly Augspurger [00:22:28]:
Good timing.

Savy Makalena [00:22:29]:
It was the greatest thing ever, yes.

Savy Makalena [00:22:31]:
Because caregivers can't get away. So, we do our support session and it's at 8 pm Hawaii time, so it's a little late for those who may be on the east coast, though, we have had some join us at 1:00 in the morning, 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning, because it's that time that you can have that quiet time and you're up anyway, so you can just call in. It's a Zoom. And at least know that you're in a safe space with other caregivers who are going through a journey just very similar to yours.

Kelly Augspurger [00:22:58]:
Savy, I like these mindful moments. It doesn't have to be 30 minutes, an hour, 2 hours, right? It can literally just be a minute, 30 seconds, whatever it is, in that even little amount of time. Do you find that some of your caregivers are even using apps, or technology to help them during those mindful moments?

Savy Makalena [00:23:18]:
Yeah, there are a lot of great apps out there. You know, I think there's one called, Calm, and I'm not being paid by anybody to say that, but, there's some great apps out there that help you to take that break, take that moment. And I think that the most important thing, though, is to do it.

Kelly Augspurger [00:23:36]:
Yeah.

Savy Makalena [00:23:36]:
To seize that moment and then use it for something. And so I actually start by telling caregivers to plug into their phone at least three times a day to take a break. And so I tell them to schedule 3 times during the day at any time you want, and then entitle it "Breathe". And so, when that alarm goes off on your phone, whatever you're doing, you stop and breathe and just take some breaths and calm yourself. That's the initial beginning and then changing from there. So utilizing what you already have and then of course, find those apps that will help you to kind of capitalize on that, to be able to do more, to help you with your journey. Whatever you can do to do that is always going to be a better thing, right?

Kelly Augspurger [00:24:20]:
For greater mental health, physical health, spiritual, emotional. Right?

Savy Makalena [00:24:23]:
The whole wellness wheel, right.

Kelly Augspurger [00:24:25]:
Yeah, it really does. And that way, not only are they taking care of themselves, but they can probably be a better caregiver longer if they're able to better care for themselves. And if you don't, then you're going to be short circuited and going to burn out even faster, right?

Savy Makalena [00:24:41]:
Yeah. I mean, the one we're caring for already feels like they're burdened. Right? "I'm burdening you." "I'm a burden." They see you tired, they see you unhappy, and they blame themselves. So if you can find your balance and help them find theirs, as well, the journey completely changes. It's all a mindset.

Savy Makalena [00:24:58]:
It's all about the mindset that you create and that you perpetuate. So I know it's tough, and I know it's hard when you're in the heat of it, but all of the things that I talk about were things that I wish I knew and I wish someone told me because it would have made a difference. And even if it makes a difference for that 5 minutes, it makes a difference.

Kelly Augspurger [00:25:17]:
Yeah. And can affect the rest of your day.

Savy Makalena [00:25:19]:
Yep.

Kelly Augspurger [00:25:20]:
And the care recipients day, too. Because if you calmer and more patient and loving, then they're going to feel that. Versus if you're irritated and agitated and angry, they're going to feel that.

Savy Makalena [00:25:31]:
And you look back with some great memories, rather than the frustration. You're going to have PTSD anyway. So you're going to have those moments that are really horrid, horrible. They're just horrendous. I had yelling matches with my mother when her dementia got to a certain point. But I try to pull the memories when I sat and had tea with her, or when we sang songs, or when the times were good. And so if you have more of those memories than the bad memories, then that'll be a better way to heal.

Kelly Augspurger [00:26:01]:
Yeah. Well, Savy, any final advice on how people can plan to best protect themselves and their families?

Savy Makalena [00:26:08]:
Again, I would totally emphasize planning for your care receiving plan. As far as becoming a caregiver, you're going to go from calm to chaos in a heartbeat anyway. So once you're there, reach out, reach out, get the support. There is support there. They can always contact us. There are a lot of other wonderful agencies. Your local state has amazing resources. But reach out, don't isolate.

Savy Makalena [00:26:34]:
It's not worth it. And that's the first thing you'll start doing is to isolate because for whatever reason, there's a million of them, but don't do that. Reach out because there are people out there who've been there who care and who are right there with you. You have a community and so be part of it.

Kelly Augspurger [00:26:49]:
Don't go it alone. You don't have to. Well, Savy, where can people find out more information about "Gimme a Break" and how you help people?

Savy Makalena [00:26:55]:
We have our website, which is G-A-B, as in "Gimme A Break". www.gab808.org and you can go onto our website anytime and you can contact us. You can even log into our support sessions right on our website. So that information is all there. There are some resources there, but you can do a caregiver intake. And so just fill out your caregiver support form and then let us know what you need and we'll get right back to you within at least 48 hours and we will find you the support you need.

Kelly Augspurger [00:27:28]:
Wonderful. Well, Savy, thanks so much for your time, your expertise, your lovely nature. Really appreciated the time that we spent together. Appreciate you. Have a fantastic day.

Savy Makalena [00:27:39]:
Thank you so much, Kelly, and I appreciate you, as well, and all that you're doing, so thank you. Mahalo.

Kelly Augspurger [00:27:44]:
Take care.