Bradley Cooper’s new documentary sheds light on the care crisis
Produced by Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper, a new documentary, “Caregiving,” explores the hidden struggles of caregivers.
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Jami Chapple feels stuck.
At 54, a single mother has no income and is two months behind. She is also late for the utility bill and is unable to find work as she cares for and homeschools her 12-year-old son who has autism and has attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
“It’s so draining, there’s no way to produce it financially,” said Chapple, who lives in Wyoming. “Even if you want to.”
She dialed the 211 helpline that Chapple felt this stack was around 2005 because she had been raising four children since then to help find food and clothes for her family.
“That woman spent so much time with that patience,” Chapple said of 211 Cole Taker. “She gave me dozens of resources.”
This time again, Chapple was called 211. However, she said she was not qualified for the services the Helpline referred her, and the caregiver support group they connected to was too far from her home.
The 211 Helpline is expanding services for caregivers like Chapple. However, with 53 million U.S. caregivers, said Bob Stephen, Vice President of Health Security Programming at AARP, said with AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving in 2020.
Caregivers’ lives could become even more difficult once the Senate passes the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” of President Donald Trump, including a massive Medicaid cut. The proposal includes work requirements for people under the age of 65 to access Medicaid. “Most of them become family caregivers,” said Nancy Lee Mondo, executive vice president of AARP, Chief Advocacy and engagement officer.
In 2021, in a partnership with AARP, 211 met the care crisis by adding caregiver support programs to a small number of states, including Florida, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The program grew over the next few years, and now the program is expanding to ten more states, allowing millions of caregivers to access care-specific support assistance. A complete list of participating states and regions can be found here.
Experts will help callers with the most pressing needs, such as food and shelters, and connect with other programs specializing in long-term support. There are around 5,000 211 telephone workers nationwide, said Heather Black, vice president of United Way’s 211 systems strategy at Worldwide.
“We’re triage,” Black said. But what happens if triage is not sufficient?
211 helps caregivers who don’t know they are caregivers
According to Worldwide, since 2021, the 211 Caregiver Support Program has supported over 1 million caregivers through a combination of direct support, local community engagement and website visits.
Caregivers often say they didn’t know they were caregivers at the time, including celebrity caregivers such as Bradley Cooper and UzoAdba. So when 211 experts spoke to people in need, Stephen said they wouldn’t ask the obvious question, “Are you a caregiver?”
Instead, the call takers are trained to listen to clues that indicate that the person is a caregiver.
“It’s amazing how much information people share when people tell you their stories about their situation,” Black said.
“The word caregiver doesn’t use the word caregiver until they make them realize some of the tasks they do,” Stephen said to drive older parents into medical appointments.
Callers may ask about food, housing, or utility assistance, which was the most common request of nearly 17 million 211 helpline calls last year. If the caller indicates that he may be a caregiver, there are plenty of other resources that can lead him to veteran benefits, rest care, meal delivery programs, and caregiver support groups, like transportation services.
But obviously, some good-intention attempts to connect people with the programmes will flatten. And it can only get worse if funds are cut.
Caregivers and advocates say, they need more help
The 211 Helpline is already designed to connect people to community resources. But there’s not much that 211 can do if the resources people need are not available in the area, Stephen said.
Chapple said it would be useful when 211 was raising four older children in the early 2000s when he lived in Texas. But she’s in Wyoming and raising a child with neurodevelopmental disorders, so she’s suffering from a disability. Some of the referrals she recently got through 211 said she is not qualified.
“I don’t have many resources in my situation,” Chapple said.
Chapple said he doesn’t have the support of his family like other caregivers. And she struggled to find a job that provided the flexibility she needed to care for her son. Her biggest need right now is rent assistance and helping her find a job, she said. However, she said some programs require you to apply for more time than caregivers have.
“We’re wasting a huge amount of time in our form for our caregivers,” Chapple said. “Forms, phone calls, research, paperwork, interviews with health agencies, and even emotional preparation to do so can be painful.”
The 211 helpline does not rely on federal funding, Stephen said, “though the federal budget funds a lot of things that 211 bring people together.” He worries that federal cuts could further reduce the number of programs available to people in need, including caregivers.
“211 will be even more important,” Stephen said. “Because people don’t really understand what’s out there yet.”
Caregivers are labor of love, Chapple said. But it can be physically, mentally, economically and emotionally difficult. She said she had to give up on the many simple pleasures she had enjoyed, such as taking a relaxing bath or writing songs. Sometimes she said she sat in the car for just 10 minutes to listen to music. It brings her some peace.
“We don’t have time,” Chapple said. “We don’t have time for self-care, which means we’re lucky if it’s like one or two showers a week.”
Madeline Mitchell’s women and the role of USA Today’s nursing economy covering the caregiving economy is supported by a partnership with Pivotal Ventures and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editor input. Please contact madeline at x at mimitchell @usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_.
