Saundra Amrhein’s Sunday May 3 Herald-Tribune cover story, “’My wife is not a burden.’ Caregiving crisis grows for Sarasota seniors,” tells the heartrending story of L. Paul Laramee.
An 83-year-old Sarasota resident, Laramee is balancing work, maintaining a home and serving as a caregiver for Marie, his wife of 64 years.
Marie has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and Paul’s daily challenge brings together many of the pressing issues facing Sarasota’s massive senior population:
- Housing.
- Affordability.
- Caregiving.
- Accessing support networks that can provide both assistance and a sense of hope.
Here’s our Q-and-A with Saundra on her impactful story.
Q. How did you approach this story and what guided your process in reporting it?
The depths of the crisis in caregiving came to my attention from one of my close contacts at the Senior Friendship Centers. Once
Senior Friendship Centers introduced me to Paul and he shared his very moving story with me, I knew that it had to be the anchor for this entire article.
Q. What are the biggest lessons you want readers to take away from your story?
There were several things that struck me during the reporting of this story, and I think the biggest one was how many working- and middle-class families are waking up and finding themselves drowning in an expanding ocean of quicksand.
They are operating under the popular narrative in this country that because they worked hard and saved all their lives, they would have a reasonably comfortable, dignified retirement.
And for many, they are shocked to find that that is not happening.
That brings me to the biggest takeaway: massive policy reforms are needed at all levels to address this crisis.
Q. What’s the next potential chapter in this story?
I think it is very important that we also examine the other side of this crisis – and that is as it relates to the struggles of the professional home health care and caregiving workforce.
Studies show that the workers themselves aren’t making enough to survive and afford basic needs – and especially with the high costs of housing in our area.
This story comes from a partnership between the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Saundra Amrhein covers the Season of Sharing campaign, along with issues surrounding housing, utilities, child care and transportation in the area. She can be reached at samrhein@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Behind the story: Saundra Amrhein on the Sarasota caregiving crisis
