From the Desk of the County Manager, October 30, 2026
Greetings, Durham!
Sunday begins November and the last two months of 2026. November 1 also marks the start of several month-long observances, including Native American Heritage Month, National Diabetes Awareness Month, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, National Adoption Month, and National Family Caregivers Month. Next week, I’ll highlight National Veterans and Military Families Month as we lead up to several Durham County Veterans Day commemorations and activities.
Honoring the Heart of Our Homes
November is National Family Caregivers Month. Whether caring for an aging parent or a family member with a disability, the investment family members make to ensure their loved ones are cared for is priceless. Caregivers are often unseen members of our community. They show up at our workplaces and the businesses we frequent after late nights and early mornings, serving as the backbone of their families. They meet needs, small and large, that can change daily, and they set aside their own schedules to do so.
They are wives, husbands, children, parents, grandchildren, and other loved ones whose gift of service preserves the dignity of those in their care.
If you drive a parent to appointments, manage a relative’s medications, or check in daily on a grandparent, you are a caregiver, and support is available to you. The Caregiver Action Network has themed this year’s month-long observance as “Care Connects Us.”
The Value of Care: By the Numbers
In March, AARP’s Public Policy Institute released its “Valuing the Invaluable 2026” report, which found that family caregivers in the United States provided nearly 50 billion hours of care in 2024, work valued at $1.01 trillion. That is the equivalent of 17% of the nation’s full-time workforce. Closer to home, AARP estimates that 2.1 million North Carolinians care for an adult loved one, providing about 1.79 billion hours of care valued at $33 billion a year.
These are more than numbers. They are our colleagues, neighbors, and their time.
Durham County Recognizes Our Caregivers
This week, the Durham County Board of Commissioners issued a proclamation for National Family Caregivers Month, formally recognizing those who sacrifice daily so their loved ones can be cared for at home. Despite the physical, mental, and financial stresses they face, caregivers show up every day, delivering compassionate care, often with limited resources and little time for themselves.
Commissioners recognized Shelisa Howard-Martinez, Executive Director of Aging Well Durham, Board Member of Dementia Inclusive Inc. and Co-Chair of Partnership for a Healthy Durham, at the October 26, 2026, Board Meeting. The nonprofit organization promotes collaborative efforts to build a safe, affordable, accessible, and connected community for aging adults in Durham. “Family caregivers are not just good people doing what is expected of them. They are a major economic force. They, and we, because I’m also a family caregiver, are filling gaps for every sector here in Durham County. Without care work, no other work is possible.”
Durham County supports caregivers every day. Through the Department of Social Services’ (DSS) In-Home Aide and Home Delivered Meals programs, older and disabled adults receive in-home aide services and a daily hot meal, and DSS social workers provide ongoing case management so residents can remain safely in their homes.
I’m grateful to Maggie Clapp, Director of the Durham County Department of Social Services, and her team of social workers, case managers, and staff, who stand alongside our caregivers every day so no family has to carry this work by themselves.
Support for Durham Caregivers
Help is close to home. The Durham Center for Senior Life’s Family Caregiver Support Program offers Durham County residents information and referrals, Powerful Tools for Caregivers classes, respite care, and a monthly support group. For those caring for a veteran, the Durham VA Health Care System’s Caregiver Support Program offers additional help. Aging Well Durham is another resource available to the community. Their website has a link to the 2025-2030 Durham Comprehensive Aging Plan. And because November is also National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, families caring for a loved one living with dementia can turn to the Duke Dementia Family Support Program for counseling, education, and support groups.
Durham Community: I ask that each of us check on a caregiver we know this month. If you're the one who cares, put time on your calendar to do something for yourself. For others you may know, offer them a meal, your time, a ride, or a simple ‘thank you.’
Remember, you are not alone, and caregivers need care, too.
Until next week,
Claudia Hager
Durham County Manager