AARP Hawaii Hosts Free Caregiver Workshop in Keaau on March 28

Family caregivers and kupuna preparing for caregiving can attend a free two-hour workshop at the Keaau Community Center on Saturday, March 28, where AARP Hawaiʻi has assembled a lineup that stretches from an Alzheimer's specialist to sitting legislators.

The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at 16-168 Pili Mua St. in Keaau. Topics on the agenda include healthy brain aging, caregiver resources available specifically within Hawaii County, and how to build a care team — practical ground-level guidance that statewide programs rarely provide with local specificity.

The speaker roster gives the workshop unusual range. Hilo Rep. Chris Todd and Puna Sen. Joy San Buenaventura are both scheduled to attend and will brief participants on bills currently moving through the Legislature that are designed to support family caregivers. Cheryl Dias, a caregiver counselor, will also present, alongside Kimberlee Sato from the Hawaii Aging and Disability Resource Center and Nic Los Banos, the Alzheimer's Association Hawaii County program manager. AARP Hawaii advocacy director Audrey Suga-Nakagawa rounds out the speakers.

The event also carves out time for caregivers to connect with one another, a component that reflects how isolating the caregiving role can become. Roughly one in four adults in Hawaii are family caregivers, according to data from the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, a figure that translates to tens of thousands of Big Island residents managing care for a family member alongside their own daily lives.

To register, go to events.aarp.org/hicare3-28 or call (877) 926-8300. Admission is free.