Cosmetologist Sheila Srader does the hair of a resident of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging. Tucsonans have access to the Caregiver Consortium, which provides information on services from local and national sources.

Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star

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Norma Patrick has lived in Tucson since 1958, but it wasn't until her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six years ago that she learned of the resources available here for caregivers.

For those new to Tucson, facing life in a new city while caring for an ill or disabled loved one can be overwhelming.

But people familiar with the area's resources say it is now much easier to access information and learn about support groups than it was a decade ago.

Jan Sturges is vice president of the Caregiver Consortium, which provides information on caregiver services from local and national sources.

The Caregiver Consortium was started in 1997 by local professionals involved with caregiving and healthy aging, she said.

"At that time, most of the services were being provided for older adults, but we weren't addressing the needs of the people caring for them," she said.

In addition to a Web site for caregivers, the consortium also provides workshops, an annual conference, caregiver retreats and now a 405-page resource guide, "How to Be a Resilient Caregiver."

Patrick said that when her husband, Bruce, was diagnosed, she began looking for information about the disease anywhere she could find it.

The caregiver resource book is vital for caregivers here, she said.

"I found a lot of these sources that Jan (Sturges) has listed in the resource book, but it would have been so much easier to find this book and pick out what you want,'' Patrick said.

After some time passed, she also began to recognize her need for support.

Sturges, once a caregiver for both her parents, said that when she has workshops, people often say they had never considered themselves caregivers.

"And particularly if they are women, because women have been socialized to take care of people,'' she said.

Too often, she said, "people providing care don't have time to take care of themselves, and so they don't reach out for the resources that are available."

Being responsible for the well-being of another person all day can be extremely taxing, Patrick said.

"If you anticipate it might be more than a couple of weeks, you need to get help for you,'' she said. "You need to search for those who can help you learn how to cope and learn how to be a caregiver."

Susan Blommer is a caregiver specialist with the Pima Council on Aging. She said her agency receives about 200 calls a month related to caregiving.

"When someone is new to Tucson and they have questions related to aging, the Pima Council on Aging is where you start,'' she said. "I feel real confident that anything they need to know about aging, someone here knows.''

Patrick, 75, cared for her husband for several years at home until his illness made it impossible.

She couldn't sleep, she said. She was exhausted by his endless questions and the way he followed her everywhere she went.

"It's a surreal existence. I was just so concerned that I didn't rest well, and then I was tired every day,'' she said. "It was like living with a baby that gets into everything, but this baby is tall and gets into a lot more."

Bruce Patrick, 76, a former school principal, has now been in a care home for a couple of years. The couple will have been married 53 years in June.

"It's the most wrenching thing you have to do,'' she said of bringing her husband to the care home. "You just can't believe this is happening to the mind of someone you love."

Norma Patrick started attending a grief support group and an Alzheimer's support group, which she said has helped.

"People need other ideas and the practical experience that people have to share,'' she said. "It just goes on and on and on. If you don't find things that nurture your soul and give you a break from the responsibility, you won't be the same person you always were. You have to feed your soul and your interests.''