JFS will offer the popular “Powerful Tools for Caregivers” class each Thursday May 5 through June 9, from 1:00 to 2:30PM at JFS. This six-week educational series has been shown to have a positive impact on caregiver’s health.

It is important to take time to care for yourself, so you can be well enough to take the best care of your loved one. Participants will learn self-care behaviors including increased exercise, relaxation and medical check-ups; emotion management to reduce guilt, anger and depression; building self-confidence to cope with care giving demands; and identifying community resources.

Each week caregivers will develop self-care tools to reduce personal stress and help them take care of themselves while caring for others. Caregivers increase self-confidence, learn to balance their lives, better communicate their feelings and feel empowered to make tough decisions.

The series will be taught by JFS Senior Services Supervisor Bonnie Jaffe, RN, and Tara Burns, MA, PEARLS Counselor. Bonnie leads the Senior Care Services program that helps elders age in place with appropriate services in the home. Tara is a mental health practitioner with personal and professional experience supporting caregivers and older adults. She is a counselor in the PEARLS program designed to alleviate depression and low mood in adults 55 and older.

The cost is $25 per person; however, scholarships are available. Each participant will receive a copy of “The Caregiver Help Book.”

Maximum class size will be 10 people, so register early! To register, call or email Bonnie at (651) 497-8248, bjaffe@jfssp.org, or Tara at (763) 300-3146, tburns@jfssp.org.