The average age of a caregiver is 49, but about 24% of adult unpaid caregivers — almost 13 million Americans — are 18 to 34, according to a 2020 report issued by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. And that doesn’t include another 5.4 million adolescents who are unpaid caregivers. They say caregiving has taken a toll on their mental or physical health, or both.
Mental Health First Aid prepares people to assist somebody who's experiencing a mental health crisis or beginning to experience signs and symptoms of a mental health challenge.
First Step Psychiatric Urgent Care Center provides services when people need them most. The 24/7 facility treats patients of all ages, irrespective of insurance.
Raising Blacknose Sheep in Calhoun County isn’t about the meat or the wool. “We got reading about them more and more and just fell in love with them,” says Mike Zebolsky of raising the rare Valais sheep with his wife Tammy Zebolsky. “They’re just so docile and friendly and with us not being truly farmers, they’re the perfect animal for us.”
The Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra is world-premiering Paths to Dignity, a violin concerto for the unhoused by composer and Grammy-award winning conductor Lucas Richman and featuring well-regarded violinist Mitchell Newman on Sunday, Feb. 19.
Many of us take for granted our ability to shower or bathe, but for the unhoused, getting clean can involve many variables and few options. SHARE Center in Battle Creek is seeking to change that by raising funds to install public showers for those who are unhoused, housing insecure, or living somewhere with no running water.
Coming out safely is not one-size fits all, as Voices of Youth Battle Creek Artist Athena McCarthy explores in her comic strip illustrations. "I wanted to bring to light the different experiences people can have when coming out," she says.
Support networks for breastfeeding parents are helping more little Michiganders get their best start in life.
The public is invited to a Feb. 26 screening of a documentary that looks at parent caregivers for children and adults who are disabled or medically complex, and their lack of support from society.
As awareness about how policing and mental health intersect grows across the state, more Michigan counties are involving community mental health agencies in law enforcement response and diverting people who are simply experiencing symptoms of mental illness from jail.
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