“Caregiving is a constant learning experience”: launch of the Cosmic project multilingual Informative Booklets

The Erasmus+ funded “COSMIC” programme is pleased to launch the multilingual Informative Booklets for migrant informal carers. These brochures describe who the caregiver is and help the reader through some short questions to recognize whether he/she’s a caregiver or not. Furthermore, by examining what the responsibilities and weight of this figure are, particular attention is paid to family caregivers of foreign origin, who must face further barriers.

The programme is co-ordinated by Pårørendealliansen (PAN) Norway, and delivered in partnership with 4 European partners, namely: Anziani e non solo società cooperativa sociale (Italy), KMOP – Kentro Merimnas Oikogeneias Kai Paidiou (Greece), Associazione C’ENTRO (Italy), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).

In detail, to help migrant carers to easily find out useful information regarding available services and at the same time overcome language barriers, the countries actively involved in the project consortium made available the informative leaflet in different translations, all downloadable here: https://cosmicproject.eu/downloads/.

And you, do you know who is a caregiver?

A large part of the population doesn’t know exactly who the caregiver is, yet many of us are or have been caregivers in the past. Informal carers are people of all ages, who provide (usually unpaid) care to someone with a chronic illness, disability or other long-lasting health or care need, outside a professional or formal employment framework (Eurocarers, 2018). Due to increasing migration flows, which more and more involve households and not only individuals and family reunifications of migrants, it is now common to find carers across Europe who have a migrant background. Indeed, migrant carers in common with carers more generally, work tirelessly in support of those they care for, often without recognition and to the detriment of their own health and well-being.

CO.S.M.I.C aims to support informal carers with a migrant background, a group which is at double risk of exclusion, discrimination and stigmatization.

If you are a carer and you also have a migrant background, you might experience some of these extra-difficulties:

• LANGUAGE BARRIERS – if your knowledge of the native language is limited, you may have difficulties to communicate with social and health care professionals or to share your experience with other family carers.
  • LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ON SUPPORT SERVICES – if you have recently moved in the country you live, you may not know what support exist for you and the person you assist or how to access these aids.
  • REDUCED SUPPORT NETWORK – if your family doesn’t live near you, you may have less people you can count on in case of need and therefore be more alone because of care commitments.
  • EXCLUSION – in some cultures, disability or psychiatric illness can be considered infectious or something that must be hidden and that cannot be talked about. For this reason, you too as a caregiver could be excluded and marginalized.

But, if you are living this conditions, COSMIC programme could help you!

Licia Boccaletti, Anziani e non solo president, said: “The COSMIC project is a great opportunity for us to be able to work on the issue of foreign caregivers: a category of recipients that is still less intercepted but for which we believe it’s important to promote targeted support actions, so that they can be adequately supported and can fully benefit from the dedicated services “.

Dowload the press release

6.04.2020