Is there financial assistance for caregivers?

It depends on where you live. Some countries help informal caregivers as their governments understand that it is cheaper and better for people to stay in their homes than to be institutionalized. We have an rapidly aging population and there will be many people in the I live in Canada and they offer homecare, although it is minimal. In Canada there is something called "compassion leave." This money is for 6 weeks leave of absence if your loved one is dying. The problem is death cannot always be predicted and it can come in waves and pockets and can take years. The caregiver just goes from crisis to crisis. I cared for my mother for over 20 years and because there are no laws protecting informal caregivers I have been impoverished and my daughter and I are detitute because of my family taking my home away. I have spent 7 years fighting for my rights in a corrupt legal system, Over the last year I have been working with members of Parliament in Ottawa to create laws and legislation that will help and compensate caregivers. There are others across Canada and North America in the same position. If you look at Sweden, Germany, New Zealand and Japan, they are examples of countries that help compensate caregivers who are forced to leave the workforce. I will try and see if I can look through my research to see if there is anything in the U.S. Perhaps if we all stand together, we can try and create change. There have been some interesting articles in the Wall Street Journal about informal caregiver compensation.