The true spirit of Christmas embraces caring, sharing and giving. This year I'm asking my fellow Bermudians to spare a thought for the caregivers in our midst, and share the Christmas spirit with them. Caregivers are the family members who look after our frail elderly and our disabled in their own homes without any payment and very often without thanks. For example, let me introduce Karen (I have changed her name to protect her identity).

Karen is Bermudian, a single woman, in mid-life and a caregiver. She gave up paid employment to care for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She said the doctor told her it would get worse, but at that time she didn't understand what he meant. Now she does. Her mother is in the "long good-bye" that characterises this disease. Karen has used up all her savings caring for her mother and says she is now so depressed she doesn't know if she can ever go back to work. And by leaving work prematurely, she gave up her pension and her health insurance. Tragically, by doing the "right thing" for her mother, Karen has put herself at risk of becoming the next generation of aged poor unless she gets the support she needs to re-enter the workforce. Better still, Karen could still be employed if her employers and government-sponsored social services had been able to support her in her dual roles of worker and caregiver. And we, the taxpayers, would be better off if Karen was working ¿ even part-time-and paying into the system, instead of being a candidate for financial assistance. Unfortunately, Karen is one of a growing number of people who have put their own mental, physical and financial health on the line to care for a family member. As more people live longer with more chronic health problems, we need more family caregivers as well as more paid care workers. Our rapidly ageing population results in more people needing care and support services in order to remain in their own homes, but a disproportionate burden rests on the family caregiver. We have shrinking families and a world-wide shortage of care workers, resulting in a crisis of care.

This crisis of care has been building for a long time. Nurses and care workers are recruited from every corner of the globe by the highest bidders. Unfortunately, regardless of ability to pay, there are not enough care workers to go around, and this puts an even greater burden on family caregivers. The question of who, how, and where we care for our growing number of seniors in need presents a challenge to us all. Caregivers alone cannot fix this problem. Neither can employers or governments working in isolation. Finding solutions is a complex process, and requires the collaboration of government legislators and policy makers, public and private employers, insurance companies and unions, families, caregivers, and care workers. And by hosting our "Ageing [AT] Work" conference yesterday at Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, we aim to shed some light on this complex issue.

In the meantime, we can show that we care in this small community. We all know someone who has taken on the caregiver role.

How many of you have a family member, neighbour, or friend who is the primary caregiver of a frail senior or disabled person?

Why not pick up the phone, and let that person know how much you appreciate all that they do?

Or better still, drop by for a visit and offer to help out in any way you can. We can also share in the caregiver's responsibilities. Every caregiver deserves some leisure time, and you can provide a welcome break by taking over for an afternoon, an evening, or a weekend. And we can all give whatever we can. We can give our time, and help clean up the house and the yard. We can also help with the rent, the lights, and the groceries this holiday season and throughout the year.

So often caregivers will say "thank you for caring, and thank you for letting me know I am not alone." Let's spread the Christmas spirit this year by caring, sharing and giving to all the caregivers in our families and our community.