Carletta Cole is on a mission to give back to those who give so much of themselves for their loved ones. Cole had to care for her mother, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

“I searched and searched for help for myself as a caregiver, a home caregiver of my mom and I didn’t find any resources,” she said.

She found that surprising considering about 53 million Americans have provided some kind of unpaid care to an adult or special needs child in the past year. That concept motivated her to start the nonprofit Caregiver Safe Place in 2019.

“You really don’t know how much of a struggle it is until you’re in it,” she said. “I was so busy trying to focus on saving my mom’s life that I forgot I needed to go to the doctor. I needed to make sure that I had [my] blood pressure checked. I needed to make sure I was on top of everything as far as the household is concerned.”

Cole says she’s helped roughly 15 to 20 caregivers by giving them a chance to take a break, whether that’s going to the spa, getting a haircut, or simply enjoy time to themselves. Right now, she says most are nominated by other people who email her and she randomly picks people to help.

“We will provide four to eight hours of caregiving for you, to have a loved one come in and be with your family member,” Cole said.

“She said, ‘How are you doing? It really brings you back to the moment of thinking, ‘Well, how am I doing?’” said Nicole Johnson, whose husband was diagnosed with leukemia.

He’s now in remission, but she says she spent most of her time with him when he was in the hospital.

“I hadn’t got my hair done. I hadn’t thought about myself for months and months because he was my main focus trying to find a bone marrow donor,” Johnson said.

Cole, who’s also a hair stylist, found out about Johnson’s situation and surprised her with a free hair treatment. 

“I think I was there with her for maybe 30 to 40 minutes, but it was really inspirational and by the time I left her salon, I felt encouraged. I felt happy. I felt refreshed,” Johnson said.

It doesn’t take long to see Cole is big on surprises. She also helped a military vet, who was taking care of his wife when she had cancer.

“We surprised him with a golf package. Oaktree [Gun Club] gave him a year’s pass,” Cole said.

Her focus now is to do some major fundraising and expand her nonprofit so she can help as many caregivers as possible.

“They can’t afford to go to the movies. They can’t afford to go to the spa. They can’t go and get a pedicure. They can’t get their hair done. They can’t take a trip,” she said.

In September, she’s holding a charity fashion show and silent auction called Runway to Compassion in Santa Monica hoping to raise at least $50,000. She says caregiver burnout is real, and being there for a loved one also means taking care of yourself.

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