Dear editor:

I’m writing in response to your article in the May 21 edition, “Harder to care in NOTL: Caregivers face gaps, inconsistency in support services.”

One of the local resources available to caregivers that wasn’t mentioned in the article is the Community Palliative Care & Wellness Niagara-on-the-Lake.

While many NOTL residents may know us as a hub of services and resources for end-of-life care, we also support individuals, families and caregivers throughout all stages of short-term/long-term life-changing illness. 

For caregivers, our services include compassionate, trained volunteers who offer caregiver relief through home and long-term care visits. Our volunteers offer companionship, compassionate listening and emotional support for a caregiver’s loved one — and regular respite from caregiving duties.

We also hold a recharge caregiver group, a safe space for those caring for others, where we listen, encourage and provide interactive sessions designed to prevent caregiver burnout.

Some of our other services designed to help caregivers include volunteer drivers, mobility equipment, and lots of information, resources and guidance on accessing local and regional programs.

Anticipatory grief is taken very seriously at on set of diagnosis; we have group support, one-on-one support and walking groups.  

We’ve been supporting NOTL for 40 years, and our small but mighty team is located at 1882 Niagara Stone Rd. in the Medical Building with the Niagara North Family Health Team.

We invite caregivers to visit us at notlpc.com, call us at 905-468-4433 or email at notlpc@bellnet.ca.

Bonnie Bagnulo
Executive director, Community Palliative Care & Wellness NOTL