ACCESS

ACCESS (the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) operates the Exhale Caregiver Support Program, a community-rooted service for family caregivers who provide daily care to elderly relatives. With a strong commitment to serving diverse caregiving communities, ACCESS pairs practical assistance with genuine human connection, recognizing that caregivers need both information and a place to feel understood.

The Exhale program offers bi-monthly support gatherings that include lunch, refreshments, and meaningful conversation with peers who share the journey. Beyond the social support, participants receive professional consultations on health and mental-health topics, access to caregiving resources, and scheduled respite care delivered by nursing and volunteer students — giving caregivers a genuine break. The program also provides annual stipends and recreational outings, small but meaningful supports that acknowledge the financial and emotional toll of caregiving. ACCESS delivers these services in partnership with The Senior Alliance and a broader network of healthcare, behavioral-health, and senior-program partners.

This resource matters because caregivers from immigrant and culturally specific communities often face additional barriers — language, stigma, unfamiliarity with the service system — that mainstream programs may overlook. Exhale meets those needs with culturally responsive support. Caregivers interested in joining can register by calling Amne Talab at 313-203-1878. For families in southeast Michigan caring for an aging loved one, the program offers a warm, well-connected community and a regular chance to, quite literally, exhale.