The Care-ring Voice Network Launches the “NOT Superheroes”
Campaign to Mark “Caregivers’ Week”
Montreal, November 3, 2009 – The Care-ring Voice Network (CVN), a tele-distance learning program that addresses the needs of unpaid caregivers, launched the “Not Superheroes” multi-media campaign today marking annual “Caregivers Week” in Quebec. The “Not Superheroes” initiative was created to illustrate the stark contrast between the everyday challenges of caring for someone with a health problem, and the surrealism of being asked to do it all without adequate support.
“Caregivers’ Week” is a great vehicle within which to launch our campaign and through which we can better connect caregivers to the resources available to them,” explains Mark Stolow, Project Manager for the Care-ring Voice Network. “They often don’t have access to adequate support and do so much by themselves. This causes great stress among caregivers who often become ill and ultimately need to be taken care of themselves. “Caregivers Week” and the “Not Superheroes” awareness campaign will help break this cycle. Caregivers need to know that there is a great deal of support out there and that they are not expected to go it alone. They don’t need to be superheroes!” he explains
The “Not Superheroes” campaign is comprised of a number of different elements. Posters representing a spectrum of real world caregivers will be posted throughout the community and in health and social service centres across the province; a microsite (www.notsuperheroes.com) has been created to provide information on resources available to caregivers throughout Quebec; and a video has been produced to showcase the personal journey of one such caregiver. As an extension of this campaign, a tele-learning seminar, bringing together experts in the field of caregiving, has been scheduled for October 29th and will be open to the general public.
Caregiving and its related challenges, affect an estimated 3 to 5 million Canadians and 500,000 Quebecers. Contrary to popular thinking, caregivers have physical, emotional and financial limitations, which means that they can’t do it all. While social norms suggest that taking care of family members is something that we must do without hesitation or complaint, the responsibility of caregiving often creates overwhelming guilt. While caregiving can be physically and emotionally challenging for anyone, those in rural areas feel even more isolated which is why CVN’s tele-learning sessions are so valuable. CVN’s tele-learning sessions reach out to isolated caregivers in rural areas, who feel helpless and overwhelmed to the point of severe depression or anxiety.
The “Not Superheroes” campaign is spearheaded by the CVN, part of the Caregiver Support Centre of CSSS Cavendish, and represents a partnership between the Professionals Networking for Caregivers (PNC) and the Regroupement des aidantes et aidants naturel(le)s de Montréal (RAANM). The project is also being supported by Uniprix.
For more information, visit www.notsuperheroes.com