SV Reads brings locally-developed CareMap Workshops, which have had a big impact on communities across the country, to Silicon Valley for the first time.
Developed by nonprofit Atlas of Caregiving, with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CareMap is a diagram of a family’s care ecosystem showing who cares for whom along with other key information. It can be drawn by hand or on a computer. A seemingly simple tool, the CareMap has often had a transformational impact on individuals, families, and communities.
The process of drawing the CareMap — thinking about who to include and why — and then reflecting upon what’s been drawn helps people better understand their own family care situations. The increased self-awareness helps them: better manage the people involved; recognize what is working well (and worth celebrating); recognize and plan for current and potential difficulties; and better advocate for their own needs.
In the past two years, several hundred people across the US have participated in CareMap Workshops, sponsored by AARP and the Santa Barbara Foundation. In these Workshops, people learn to draw and reflect on their own CareMaps. Most importantly, they have an opportunity to show others what they’ve drawn and speak about what they’ve learned. These conversations have been eye-opening for many, and have catalyzed more conversations outside the Workshop. Many workshop participants have gone on to show and teach CareMaps to their family, friends, colleagues, and others in the community. A news story Caregivers Draw Support By Mapping Their Relationships featured some examples.
In Santa Barbara, where over 150 people have participated in Atlas-led Workshops, community volunteers have gone on to teach hundreds more families, social workers are using CareMaps with their clients, hospitals are investigating how to incorporate them into their efforts and processes, and the Santa Barbara Foundation and the local Area Agency on Aging are both requiring all grantees to use CareMaps in their programs.
Workshops are limited to 30 participants. Register on the library’s events page.
Draw CareMaps using an online tool here AtlasCareMap.org. Further instructions and examples can be found on the Atlas of Caregiving website.
If you prefer to draw your CareMap by hand, instructions and examples can be found here.
For more information, contact Rajiv Mehta, CEO, Atlas of Caregiving, at rajiv@atlasofcaregiving.com
