College of the Canyons, in partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center, Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles and Partners in Care Foundation, will be hosting a free “Family Caregivers Essentials” workshop on Saturday, May 20 at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center.

The first in an ongoing series of workshops designed to help offer assistance to current and potential family caregivers, the workshop will educate and empower attendees with information about how to provide physical, emotional, and financial support of an adult who is unable to manage self-care.

“We see a tremendous need in our valley to better serve those who need caregiving services and those who are placed into the role of a caregiver,” said Paul Wickline, Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the college. “There is a common myth that those who age and who need care will be served in a nursing home or health care institution when the time comes, but that isn’t always the case.”

According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, the reality is that only 11 percent live in nursing home or assisted living settings. Nationwide, 58 percent of care recipients age 50 or older live in their own home, and 20 percent live with a caregiver.

Funded by a grant from the Archstone Foundation, the workshop will be led by two experts with decades of experience in caregiving, Susan Galeas, MSW, MPH (President & CEO of Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles) and Katheryn Howell (Program Director, Health Self-Management Services at the Partners in Care Foundation of San Fernando).

Topics covered will include an introduction to caregiving, the challenges caregivers face, barriers faced by caregivers, and resources available to caregivers. Workshop participants will also have the opportunity to ask questions and suggest topics for future workshops. The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to noon. Pre-registration is recommended.

For more information about the “Family Caregivers Essentials” workshop at the SCV Senior Center or to pre-register for the event, please visit http://www.canyons.edu/Offices/SchoolofSocialSciences/Pages/Events.aspx.