Behind the story: Why and how CBC decided to focus on family caregiving

It's an invisible workforcethe army of men and women who step in to offer help when a loved one gets sick.

In some ways, it'sthe most natural thing in the world. But manysay itcomes with a weight that's often notseen or appreciated.

During the month of February, journalists from CBC Calgary and CBC Edmontonbroughtstories of family caregivers,exploring the impact of their work on the health-care system, the economy and their own well-being.

In this series, you'llhear what it's like when illness forces a family to check their mother into a geriatric hospital against her will, or to be forcefullycut out of a medical appointment, or to jugglenever-ending demands when caring for both children and parents at once.

You'll also hear a bit of what the Alberta government is considering in its action planpromised forthis spring.

Writers' workshop: Telling their own story

Why family caregivers? Because we rarely hear from them and yet their work underpins the Canadian health-care system.

This project is part of a larger CBCinitiativeto enhancethe way we connect with our community and listen to less-heard voices. That's why CBC Calgaryspent time on the ground in the federal riding of Calgary Forest Lawn lastsummer; and why we invited those living on a tight budget to share stories of how inflation is impacting theirgrocery shoppingby text message last fall.

For this project, we worked with Caregivers Alberta to offer a freeworkshop for caregivers interested in writing their own story. Over five weeks in October and November, former newspapercolumnist Elise Stolte taught about how to usepersonal anecdotes, detailand stories to help readers see the world through a new set of eyes.

The groupread snippets of the writingtogether totalk aboutstory structure and form.

Many of these pieces were then submitted for consideration for CBC's paid First Person program.Watch for themthroughout the month of February.

The issue of how to care for the sick, aging and frailtouches many, many lives.According to University of Alberta researchers,more than a quarter of Albertans(or 929,000 people)give an estimated 647million hours of unpaid labour each year to care for adultsliving in their homes, with family or in larger facilities.

The series so far

Follow the series as it rolls out by checking our topic page at cbc.ca/familycare.