Duet: Partners In Health & Aging—a 36-year-old Phoenix area nonprofit that promotes health and well-being through a broad range of services to homebound adults, family caregivers, faith communities, and grandparents raising grandchildren—is starting a new Caregiver-to-Caregiver Mentor Program and is looking for volunteers with family caregiving experience to provide one-on-one support to other caregivers in a mentorship capacity.

“A lot of caregivers live in isolation and often find it difficult to connect with others as a result of their caregiving situations,” said Daniela Saylor, Family Caregiver Services Program Manager at Duet. “Through the new Caregiver-to-Caregiver Mentor Program, we are able to put them in contact with other caregivers who have walked the walk, are able to understand the challenges they are facing, and are ready to provide support. With the help of Duet staff, mentors are also able to provide information regarding helpful community resources.”

To become a caregiver mentor, the interested person should have some experience in a caregiving role (providing unpaid support for a loved one) and be in a stable place in their own caregiving journeys. Duet provides training and coordination for the Caregiver-to-Caregiver Mentor Program thanks to a grant from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

The next Caregiver-to-Caregiver Mentor Program training session is from noon to 4 p.m., Monday, July 3 at the Church of the Beatitudes, 555 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix. Those who are interested in participating in upcoming training sessions must RSVP through Daniela Saylor via email at saylor@duetaz.org or by calling (602) 274-5022. More training sessions will be available this fall.

“The connection that is formed between a caregiver and their caregiver mentor is often mutually beneficial as they are able to support each other through the process,” Saylor said. “Many of our mentors are still caring for their loved ones but feel they have reached a stable place. This is very much a peer-oriented model of support, which is one of the many strengths of this program.”