Carletta Cole is on a mission to provide care and special treatment to Southern California caregivers who need a break.

Cole is the founder of the Valencia based Caregiver Safe Place, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and short-term relief for primary caregivers.

Caregiver Safe Place will host “Runway to Compassion,” a charity fashion show on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the 501 Broadway Studio, in Santa Monica, CA, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The event will feature a cocktail reception, silent auction, a fashion show, and special tributes to the 2022 Caregiver Safe Place honorees caregiver, author, motivational speaker Dave Nassaney and caregiver, award-winning musician Lucien George aka Bowlegged Lou of Full Force. Funds raised through the event will be used to continue providing caregivers a “Day Off.”

Cole navigated caregiving for the first time when her mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. At the time, Cole was a single mother wandering through the world of caregiving alone. “A lot of people don’t understand until they’re in that position what caring for an aging parent, a kid with a disability, a traumatic brain injury, or even a veteran is like,” Cole says. “It’s a hard situation to be put in.”

“I founded Caregiver Safe Place not only to provide caregivers with resources and to give caregivers a well-deserved break. I thought, ‘If I’m doing this by myself, I know other caregivers are doing it, too.’ I want to give back to them.”

Caregiver stress is the physical and emotional strain from continuous care for another person. When this stress is prolonged, it can cause serious physical and mental health problems for those providing the care. Caregiver stress may be the precursor to more severe caregiver burnout.

Recent studies by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP show that approximately 43.5 million caregivers have provided unpaid care to an adult or child in the last 12 months. The value of services provided by informal caregivers has steadily increased over the last decade, with an estimated economic value of $470 billion in 2013.

For more information and to purchase event tickets about Runway to Compassion, visit the event’s website.

About Caregiver Safe Place:

Caregiver Safe Place is a 501 (c )(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2019 to provide relief for caregivers who dedicate their lives to the full-time care of their loved ones.  For more information, visit the website.