Care for the Caregiver

The program

Care for the Caregiver (C4C) is a three-year donor-driven program that brings a wellness focus into music care educational programs supporting Canadian caregivers in clinical, community and home care settings. C4C provides an opportunity to remove funding as a barrier and increase accessibility of musiccare by Room 217’s benefit-designed programs. C4C is intended to be a measured delivery and support program as opposed to a giveaway. Participating caregivers agree to provide feedback about their music wellness experience which helps Room 217 track impact and effectiveness of its services.

Music and the Circle of Care

Music can be useful to everyone in the circle of care, especially those offering care. In a 2022 white paper, the Canadian Centre for Excellence in Caregiving described giving care in Canada and names two primary groups: caregivers and care providers. Caregivers are unpaid family members, chosen family, friends and other supports who provide care because of a relationship with the person who needs care. Care Providers are individuals who are trained and paid to provide care such as nurses, personal support workers, and direct support professionals, etc. Room 217 recognizes both of these groups of caregivers in this program. The use of music for caregiver wellness has been shown to relieve stress, promote relaxation, and be a source of well-being and support.

The need

Throughout the pandemic, conversations around caregiver burnout, moral injury, mental health, and the need to develop wellness strategies to address these concerns have become a common theme in conversations with our LEARN and CERTIFY communities. In addition, Room 217 has received calls from school boards, and other youth-related agencies for music wellness support. To date, many of our programs address self-care strategies yet the conversation and need for music wellness strategies continues to surface. The need for wellness strategies is urgent. We can provide music care for wellness education and resources for this growing need.