You're Not Alone: What Legacy Forum #1 Taught Us About Starting the Caregiving Journey
Caregiving rarely begins with a decision……
That single phrase, shared by featured speaker Ebony Travis-Tichenor, captured the heart of Compassion by Design's first Legacy Forum™, You're Not Alone: Starting the Caregiving Journey. For nearly ninety minutes, caregivers, family members, and community supporters gathered to hear honest stories, practical tools, and one recurring reassurance:
No one has to walk this journey alone.
An Opening Rooted in Courage
Founder and Executive Director Treceia Bazemore opened the evening with a story she did not have to tell.
Earlier this year, she experienced a stroke, and her recovery is ongoing. She shared her experience not as an apology for imperfection, but as proof of a principle that guides everything Compassion by Design does.
"None of us have to be perfect to make a difference. We just have to be willing to show up."
Treceia reminded attendees that the Legacy Forum™ Series was created to honor those who came before us—the grandmothers, mothers, aunts, neighbors, and friends who cared for others long before anyone called them caregivers—while equipping today's caregivers with the knowledge, resources, and support those generations often lacked.
She also reflected on her own caregiving journey and the question that ultimately inspired the creation of the Golden Circle of Care Hub™:
"Who supports me?"
The Prepared Caregiver Corner™
Readiness Is a Form of Love
Sharron Williams, Founding Expert of the Prepared Caregiver Corner™, brought more than four decades of nursing experience—and her personal journey as the mother of a son with autism—to the evening's first educational presentation.
Her message was both simple and urgent:
Emergencies don't wait. Preparedness shouldn't either.
Sharron guided participants through the process of creating a family emergency plan, encouraging every household to discuss:
Emergency escape routes
Family meeting locations
Out-of-town emergency contacts
One of her favorite preparedness tips was refreshingly affordable:
Start with a tote bin and a backpack.
From there, she explained how to build an emergency caregiver kit that includes:
One gallon of water per person, per day
Shelf-stable food
At least a three-day supply of medications
Flashlights and batteries
Copies of important documents
Comfort items for loved ones with dementia, autism, or other sensory needs
She reminded attendees:
"If you're ready, you don't have to get ready."
The Prepared Caregiver Corner™, including its permanent home within the Golden Circle of Care Hub™, is supported through the 2026 AARP Community Challenge, with gratitude to AARP and AARP Maryland.
Two Photographs and Twenty Years
The evening's featured presentation was delivered by Ebony Travis-Tichenor, a respected executive with nearly thirty years of corporate leadership experience—and, more importantly, a devoted daughter who has spent over twenty years caring for her mother.
Ebony began with two photographs.
The first showed her mother as the vibrant, stylish woman who raised her.
The second reflected the realities of the caregiving years.
The space between those two photographs, Ebony explained, is where caregiving truly lives—where love, grief, responsibility, changing roles, and identity all intersect.
She introduced attendees to a term many had never heard before:
Anticipatory grief—the experience of grieving someone who is still living as the relationship gradually changes.
The Numbers Behind Caregiving
Ebony reminded participants that they are far from alone.
According to the 2025 Caregiving in the U.S. report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving:
63 million Americans are family caregivers.
Nearly 1 in 4 adults now provide unpaid care.
Caregivers provide an average of 27 hours of care each week.
One in five caregivers rates their own health as fair or poor.
But perhaps the evening's most powerful insight came from a single sentence:
"The word caregiver is a key. Until you claim the title, you don't reach for the resources that already exist for you."
Her advice was straightforward:
If someone depends on you for medications, appointments, meals, transportation, finances, or daily support that they once managed independently...
You are a caregiver.
Whether you've ever used that word or not.
The Myth of the Solo Caregiver
For those just beginning the caregiving journey, Ebony encouraged four practical first steps:
Assess your loved one's immediate safety.
Gather essential documents.
Create a care notebook or folder.
Make one phone call—to 2-1-1, your local Area Agency on Aging, or a social worker—to learn what resources are available.
She also challenged what she called the myth of the solo caregiver.
Too often, one daughter, spouse, or family member quietly assumes every responsibility.
Her advice:
Stop waiting to be asked. Start assigning responsibilities.
Not everyone can provide hands-on care, but family members can:
Manage medications
Schedule appointments
Handle paperwork
Coordinate transportation
Help pay for respite care
One of the evening's most memorable moments came when Ebony compared caregivers to the structure of a home:
"You are the load-bearing wall. If you go down, the whole system goes down with you."
Caregiving, she reminded everyone, is not a sprint.
It is a marathon.
And perhaps the most comforting reminder of the evening was this:
"Worry, left alone, becomes anxiety. Worry with a plan becomes peace."
What Comes Next
To close the evening, Treceia introduced attendees to the Golden Circle of Care Hub™, Compassion by Design's growing online resource center filled with educational tools, caregiver worksheets, checklists, and trusted resources—including every handout referenced during the forum.
Before ending the program, she offered one final challenge.
Choose one thing from tonight...
Start an emergency preparedness kit.
Make the 2-1-1 call.
Organize important documents.
Claim the title of caregiver.
Just begin.
The Legacy Forum™ Series continues each month.
Legacy Forum™ #2: Emergency Preparedness – Preparing Today for Peace of Mind Tomorrow will build on this foundation by helping caregivers create practical emergency plans, organize critical documents, and prepare for unexpected situations before they happen.
You Are Not Alone
To every caregiver reading these words...
Your story matters.
Your work matters.
And you matter.
You are not alone.
You never were.
Compassion by Design, Inc.
Designing Care with Heart. Creating Change with Purpose.
The Prepared Caregiver Corner™ is supported by the 2026 AARP Community Challenge. Visit the Golden Circle of Care Hub™ to access caregiver resources, educational tools, and materials from the Legacy Forum™ Series.