Community Resources

October 29

International Day of Care and Support

Established by the United Nations in 2023. It recognizes two groups: the people who provide care, paid or unpaid, and the people who need it, so that work gets counted instead of overlooked.

63M
Americans providing unpaid family care in 2025, up 45% in a decade. Source: AARP/National Alliance for Caregiving.
3 in 5
U.S. family caregivers who are women. Same source.
708M
Women worldwide outside the labor force because of care responsibilities. Source: ILO, 2024.
2023
The year the UN General Assembly created this day, Resolution A/RES/77/317.

What Counts As Care

None of this comes with a paycheck that matches the weight of it. All of it holds someone up.

Unpaid Family Caregivers Parents Eldercare Workers Childcare Workers Disability Support Home Health Aides Domestic Workers Hospice Caregivers Nurses & Health Workers Social Workers Foster Parents People Receiving Care

Understand What This Day Is About

Care and Support: What It Involves

What counts as care work?

Unpaid family caregiving (a parent, an adult child caring for an aging parent, a spouse) and paid care professions: childcare, eldercare, home health, domestic work, nursing, and social work. Both halves of that list are what this day is about, not just one.

Where did this day come from?

The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/77/317 in 2023, establishing International Day of Care and Support on October 29 every year. It’s coordinated at the UN level by the ILO, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and UN Women.

How many people does this touch?

63 million Americans currently provide family caregiving, up 45% (about 20 million more people) in the past decade. Worldwide, roughly 708 million women are outside the labor force specifically because of care responsibilities.

What does unpaid caregiving cost the person doing it?

More than a third of U.S. caregivers have stopped saving for retirement. About a quarter have drained short-term savings, and a similar share carry caregiving-related debt. Nearly 1 in 5 say their own health has gotten worse because of the role.

Is there a U.S. version of this?

Yes. National Family Caregivers Month runs every November, recognized through presidential proclamations since 1997 and championed by Caregiver Action Network. October 29 is the global day, November is the domestic month. Same conversation, twice a year.

What is this day asking for, past a thank you?

Per the UN’s own framing: fair pay and enforceable protections for paid care workers, actual investment in accessible childcare and eldercare, and redistributing unpaid care work more evenly instead of leaving it concentrated on women. A policy ask, not just an appreciation post.

Where To Go From Here

If you or someone you love is carrying this, here’s where actual support exists.

These organizations do the practical work: helplines, respite care, and local support, not just observance.

National Help Desk

Caregiver Action Network

Caregiver Help Desk at (855) 227-3640. Peer support community and guides organized by condition, for caregivers of any age, caring for anyone.

caregiveraction.org

Find A Break

ARCH National Respite Network

A searchable national locator for respite care, so a caregiver can find temporary relief instead of just being told to rest.

archrespite.org

Local Eldercare Support

Eldercare Locator

A federal service connecting caregivers to their local Area Agency on Aging for counseling, training, and respite funding specific to eldercare.

eldercare.acl.gov

The Global Campaign

Global Alliance for Care

The organization coordinating the actual October 29 campaign worldwide, under #VoicesofCare.

globalallianceforcare.org

Most Of What Helps A Caregiver Costs Nothing But Time.

You don’t have to fix someone’s whole situation to make it lighter. You have to stop waiting for them to ask.

  • Offer a specific task (“I’m bringing dinner Tuesday”) instead of “let me know if you need anything”
  • Ask what would help this week specifically, not what would help in general
  • Check in on the caregiver, not only on the person receiving care
  • Learn what respite care is, and whether it’s available where they live
  • If you employ caregivers, ask what flexibility or leave they have access to
  • Share this day with someone who’s never had their work named out loud

This page is for education and awareness. It does not replace medical, legal, or financial advice. If you or someone you know is a caregiver who needs support, contact Caregiver Action Network’s Help Desk at (855) 227-3640.