In-Home Respite Care for American Indian and Alaska Native Families

The International Association for Indigenous Aging (IA2), which manages the American Indian and Alaska Native Resource Center for Brain Health, is partnering with HFC to provide up to 25 respite care grants for family caregivers of American Indian and Alaska Native people living with memory loss, other cognitive issues, and/or a diagnosis of dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease.

These respite care grants for family caregivers from American Indian and Alaska Native caregivers of AI/AN families (including Tribal communities, Alaska Native Villages, and urban Indians) and are funded by the generous support of the CDC Foundation who is working to address increased direct service needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guidelines & Eligibility

These special grants do not require a formal diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s as we recognize the challenge of seeking care and formal diagnosis for this disease in many tribal and Native communities.

However, applicants must identify specific issues related to memory loss, trouble thinking, or other dementia-like symptoms for the person living with these issues.  For more information about signs and symptoms of memory loss and cognitive decline, click here.

The respite care grants offered as part of this special project are for:

• American Indian and Alaska Native families living in a Home Instead service area.  To see if there is a Home Instead in your area, go to: https://www.homeinstead.com/locations/
• Respite care hours provided by Home Instead, there is no cash value.
• One-time grant of 50 hours of respite care to be used within 3 months of being awarded.
• Caregivers and/or people living with memory loss or dementia residing in the US that identify as a member of a federal or state-recognized tribe.
• Caregiver(s) facing financial and emotional hardships due to the unique challenges of dementia, Alzheimer’s or memory loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To Apply:

We are accepting rolling applications for up to 25 respite care grants for people exhibiting symptoms related to memory loss or cognitive issues (does not require formal diagnosis). Applications will be reviewed by an external committee of current and former Alzheimer’s family caregivers, health care, and service providers to assess for a match with respite service needs and priority for funding.

When completing the application, please provide a full narrative of your caregiving experience and current situation, including any financial and/or emotional hardships due to the unique challenges of dementia, Alzheimer’s or memory loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Please provide as much detail as you can so that we can learn more about you and your loved one. Be sure to review your information for accuracy before submitting your application.

Applications will be reviewed monthly through October OR until all respite grants have been issued (whichever comes first). You can expect to receive notice of the status of the application within one month of review.

**When registering to complete the application, the email you use to register is the email that will be used for any notifications regarding grant status. If you are assisting a family caregiver to complete the application, use his or her email address when registering.

For questions or assistance completing the application, contact: Mary Ann Franks at maryann@iasquared.org

Did you know!

HFC + IA² are partnering to improve the wellbeing of Native Elders and caregivers during Covid-19 and beyond. Together they are now offering Online Support Groups.

To learn more about online support groups, click here.