Identify your support network using a practical tool

Network mapping: a practical tool

To get a better idea of who is part of your support network, we invite you to build your own support map. Once created, it becomes a handy visual tool that provides a simple overview of the people involved in your caregiving situation—that is, the people who support you or support the person you are helping. It can include family, friends, health care professionals, community organizations, etc. In other words, the support map is a visual representation of the people in your network.

The purpose of this tool is to help you organize care, tasks, and activities around the person being cared for and to clarify who does what in the situation. It helps in understanding who else is involved with the person who needs assistance and also allows you to identify areas where you lack support. After identifying the people ready to help you, the next step is to develop an action plan to engage these people and find the missing support. The support map is a preventive tool, so we suggest constructing it before a crisis occurs. Furthermore, since every caregiving situation is unique, the support map is different for each person; it can be small or large. Also, as caregiving evolves, your support map can change over time. Try to keep it up to date!

Steps to map your network

Here are the steps we invite you to follow to build your support map:

1. First, make a list with the names of the following people: - Who lives with you? (Your loved one, your partner, your children, your dog...) - Who do you take care of? (Your loved one, your children...) - Who else takes care of your loved one? (Day center, family, health professional...) - Who takes care of you? (A support worker, a community organization, a neighbor who checks in...)

2. Take a sheet of paper, draw a circle in the center, and write your name. Around your name, write the names of people from your list that you can surround with circles. Differentiate professionals with triangles. Draw arrows to indicate who helps whom, and use different types of arrows to reflect the intensity of involvement (for example: frequent, daily, weekly, occasional involvement).

Here is the example of Marie (illustrated below), caregiver for Jacques who lives with her. Marie receives psychosocial support from GASO, including consultations with a support worker and attending support groups. Her neighbor walks the dog every evening, which takes a task off Marie's list, and her brother-in-law visits Jacques occasionally.

3. When your support map is complete, we invite you to look it over and ask yourself the following questions:

- Who is on it?

- Who can take care of my loved one? Who can support me?

- Who else should be included (for example: your cousin or colleague who wants to help you but doesn't know what to do).

- How could you involve them more?

- Is there professional help you haven’t sought yet?

4. In a free space on your support map, create a wish list to identify tasks and activities you would like help with to improve your quality of life and that of your loved one. For example: mowing the lawn, taking a walk with the care recipient, spending time with my friends, etc.

5. Develop an action plan to get the help you need and feel free to share your support map, including your wish list, with people around you who want to help you. Also show it to professionals and your support worker. They can suggest resources based on your needs.