Being a caregiver for a loved one can feel like a lonely experience, but it’s all too common — some 63 million U.S. adults are unpaid caregivers, providing extra help to family members or friends with health conditions or disabilities. This can include a wide range of tasks, like bringing them to appointments, managing their medications and taking care of household tasks they can no longer do on their own.
The exhibition In Care Of: Postcard-Sized Portrayals of Caregiving in Wisconsin brings awareness to this crucial role and aims to help caregivers feel less alone. Now available in digital form, In Care Of amplifies caregiver voices, offers a glimpse into the complex emotional landscape of family caregiving and provides vital context through research and supportive resources.
In Care Of’s creators, caregiving expert and Human Development & Family Studies Associate Professor Kristin Litzelman and family caregiver Kristin Voss, invited individuals to anonymously share postcards reflecting the joys and challenges caregiving brings. While the role can involve emotional struggle, it often brings about resilience, growth and gratitude.
“Some experiences are so personal, so emotionally charged, that we almost don’t have words for them. My brightest hope with this exhibition is for caregivers to look at it and say, ‘Yes, that’s exactly what it feels like’ — to feel they are part of a universal experience. This exhibition is also for employers, schools, community organizations and health care providers, who all interact with caregivers every day. The more we can bring caregiving into conversations in these areas, the more we can create an environment that sets caregivers up for success. And when we do that, we all win.”
— Kristin Litzelman, Human Development & Family Studies associate professor and caregiving expert
Funded by the Reilly-Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment, the exhibition is a collaboration between Litzelman, Voss and the Nancy M. Bruce Center for Design and Material Culture. Litzelman conducts research focused on the relationships between caregivers and care recipients, caregiver access to both formal and informal support, and caregivers’ experiences more generally. Voss is the founder of the Center for Caregiver Serenity, a Madison-area nonprofit inspired by Voss’ own experiences that seeks to support family caregivers and educate society about family caregiving.
Tour the virtual exhibition at in-care-of.humanecology.wisc.edu.