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Support Can Be Just a Phone Call Away
Wotowicz says that the toll-free phone
numbers allow them to help a greater number of people,
and the organization has grown steadily over the past 20
years. In the first year, the organization helped 14
people. Last year, they made 1863 matches. While
telephone support is most common, face-to-face meetings
are possible.
“There are face-to-face meetings in some cases; it’s
really a matter of logistics and what the people want,”
says Wotowicz. “The organization was originally founded
on the basis of face-to-face meetings but as it grew and
became nationwide… actually people prefer not to meet
face-to-face. I think part of it is the fact that our
lifestyles are so busy; it takes a while to set a
meeting because of the logistics of everything. It’s
just so much better over the phone. If people want a
face to face meeting, and it’s logistically possible, we
certainly encourage it, but we get very little demand
for it.”
Whatever option caregivers choose, Masi stresses that
the most important thing a caregiver can do is to not
overlook their own needs. “Do the best you can to keep
yourself healthy so you can be of help,” Masi says. He
encourages people not to overlook their physical or
emotional health when caring for someone else. “We’re
trained to be the martyrs as caregivers and we get to
the point where we’re not helpful because we haven’t
taken care of ourselves. I see that all the time.”
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