Caregiver Support Groups: Who Needs One and How to Find the Group For You

Podcast explores Caregiver Support Groups and  which caregivers are the perfect candidates and how to find the right group for them. We also discuss the information needed from a caregiver to join a support group and how these groups assist in finding much needed resources.  

Guest: Marilyn Lawson is the founder of Eldercare & Caregiver Solutions, a company she established in 2016 to educate families about the various sources of support for caregivers and the elderly family members for whom they care. After a 29-year career in banking, having achieved the position of Second Vice President & Operations Officer, Mrs. Lawson took time off from the workforce to pursue a long-held goal to return to school. During that time, she volunteered for thirteen years with the Detroit Area Agency on Aging as an Advisory Council member; and in 2012, she was appointed to a two-year term as Chair of the forty-member Council. Later Mrs. Lawson became the first Executive Director for her church’s non-profit community out-reach center where she served for three years. Following this career change, she spent seven years as primary caregiver to her mother, and she shared in the care of her aunt; both living well into their nineties. 

Mrs. Lawson holds Bachelor of Science Degrees in Marketing and Long-Term Care Administration from Madonna University, Livonia, Michigan. In 1998, she was inducted into the Kappa Gamma Phi, National Catholic College Graduate Honor Society. She holds Certificates in Eldercare Practice and Nursing Home Administration. In 2019, Mrs. Lawson was the recipient of The Hannon Foundation’s Seventy over Seventy Impact Award for Life Long Learning. 

Through her business, Eldercare and Caregiver Solutions, Mrs. Lawson provides members of her caregiver support groups and patrons of her private consulting practice with information, tools and guidance on how to systematically approach the management of their loved one’s custodial care and business needs while being transparent about their own circumstances as well. Mrs. Lawson is passionate about helping seniors and family caregivers find solutions to challenging issues in order to effectively and successfully navigate this phase of life.