Behind closed doors, millions of Americans are stepping into one of the hardest roles they’ll ever take on: caring for their aging parents.
Times Opinion interviewed dozens of family caregivers across the country to paint a portrait of the American elder care crisis. In the video above, these caregivers describe the heavy emotional toll and personal sacrifices required to keep their loved ones safe and comfortable.
The United States currently relies on unpaid caregivers to provide $870 billion worth of labor each year, often at an extreme cost to the caregivers’ own well-being, finances and futures.
“What if this goes on for another 10 years?” one caregiver said. “How long am I going to be able to maintain this?”
As the country’s population rapidly ages — with adults over 65 set to outnumber children by 2034 — more Americans will find themselves in need of care. Many families remain wholly unprepared to shoulder the weight of this demographic shift, even if they must.
