As we celebrate National Caregivers’ Week from Nov. 2 to 8, it’s a time to shine a light on those who care quietly, day after day, for a loved one in need.

Aging in the community doesn’t happen alone in 2025.

While health and social services – public and community-based – play an essential role, they only tell part of the story. The rest is written by the thousands of informal caregivers who support family members, friends and neighbours across Quebec.

Back in 2013, an estimated 85 per cent of care for seniors in the province was provided by informal caregivers. With today’s growing needs and pressure on health services, that number is likely even higher. Yet caregiving isn’t limited to seniors. It can mean helping a spouse recovering from illness, a friend living with a disability or a child with additional needs.

This last category is a complex one because, as you might imagine, parents rarely see themselves as caregivers. Therefore, most parents of a child with additional needs won’t reach out for any help and support from which they would benefit. Some of them even belong to the sandwich generation, caring for both a child with disabilities and an aging parent.

And let’s not forget about the moral support caregivers bring to their loved ones in all kinds of settings: hospital visits, adapted living and long-term care. Without their ongoing informal assistance, health-care professionals couldn’t do their job.

Although it helps when caregivers self-identify as such, it’s not a necessity to be able to get some aid in return from their support system. In helping to identify someone else who is in a caregiving situation, you may help lighten a burden they didn’t even know they had.

Whether they provide a few hours of help a week or round- the-clock support, caregivers form the invisible backbone of our health system, and it is vital that we recognize their contribution. This week, let’s make their efforts visible. Please take a moment to reach out to a caregiver you know – because we all know at least one. A kind word, a home-cooked meal or a simple offer to listen can go a long way in reminding them they’re not alone.