Meet Rachel Hiles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Hiles.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I like to refer to myself as a 30-something aspiring local celebrity do-gooder in Kansas City, MO. I just completed a seven-year mission caring for my grandma, Barbara.

Right before Covid, we became roommates. She passed away in our home due to natural causes (Alzheimer’s) in late January of this year (2022).

I quit my job of seven years back in 2018 after caregiving got too heavy of a load for me and I launched my own business.

Becoming my own boss gave me the flexibility and freedom I needed to care for Grandma and another close loved one. You can read more about my caregiving journey and advice at TakingCareofGrandma.com).

Around that same time, I founded Sandwiched KC, an organization here in Kansas City. I launched Sandwiched because I noticed an obvious gap in support for those in our area who are helping older loved ones, especially those doing it at home.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest challenges to accessing support for family caregivers is the fact that we are often caring for a loved one without even realizing it.

It may start out as a quick run to the pharmacy or a hospital visit, and then, before you know it, helping your loved one has started taking more of your time and attention. All the research shows that family caregivers don’t “self-identify” as caregivers.

We simply consider our help and care part of love and devotion part of our roles as sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, nieces and nephews, neighbors, and friends. The systems that we come into contact with don’t help us recognize our “official” roles much (if ever), and we often don’t get the help we so desperately need.

This challenge makes it hard for us to reach the people who need our support.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
SANDWICHED Family Caregivers of KC is a 501c3 nonprofit that was founded in 2018.

We provide information and referral, support groups, education, and self-care activities to people in Kansas City who are caring for parents, grandparents, spouses, adult children, siblings, and anyone they consider family.

Whether you have a child or adult with a disability, special needs, or medical issues in your home, have kids AND are caring for your own parents, are a sibling taking care of your own family AND your folks, or a brother or sister with a disability, or are single trying to balance your life/career AND your caregiving responsibilities.

We can relate. We know what it feels like to be smushed into situations so big we’re not even sure how to take the first bite.

That’s why we’re committed to providing local family caregivers with a space to learn and ask questions to take the right path, opportunities to connect with others who have been in their shoes, and resources to help them and their care partners on their path to the best life possible.

Our mission is to create opportunities for family caregivers to find local support and shared wisdom.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Every day across the United States, pre-pandemic meltdown, family caregivers were already living our current reality.

Due to our caring commitments, we were quite familiar with social isolation, preoccupation with sanitation and preparedness, the barriers to healthcare, coping with mental health issues, and living in fear.

Family caregivers are still dealing with all of these challenges.

Some of us have lost the loved ones we cared for during the crisis and we have additional struggles, especially grief, we’re dealing with as we are re-adjusting to life “on the outside” and “the new normal.”

It is crazy to see how the rest of the world is just going back to their lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sandwiched.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sandwichedkc
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/sandwichedkc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sandwichedkc