If you drive your mother to her appointments, sort out her pills, call every night to make sure she ate, or handle the paperwork nobody else will touch, November is about you. National Family Caregivers Month runs all month long.

Most people doing this work never use the word caregiver. They’re just being a good son, or a good neighbor. Caregiver Action Network, the organization behind the national observance, defines a caregiver as anyone who helps another person manage their health, daily needs or overall well-being, usually without pay. By their count, more than 53 million Americans fit that description.

This year’s theme is Care Connects Us. Caregiving has a way of shrinking your world down to appointments and errands, and the person who needs good information and a little company most is usually the last one to go looking for it.

Here’s something worth knowing. Pennsylvania has run a Caregiver Support Program since 1990, and in Montgomery County it’s administered by the county Office of Aging Services. Depending on your situation, it can cover respite care, caregiver training, benefits counseling, and reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs such as supplies, home modifications or assistive devices. There’s no income test to enroll, though the reimbursement amount depends on the income and household size of the person you care for. There’s also a separate track for grandparents 55 and older who are raising grandchildren under 18.

While we’re on the subject, our thanks to the Montgomery County Office of Aging Services. We’ve worked alongside them for many years on behalf of older adults in this county and the families who look after them. A good deal of what we’re able to offer here exists because of that partnership.

We pay attention to caregivers because we see what they do for our members. People stay in their own homes, keep their appointments and stay connected to the world around them largely because somebody in their life is quietly making it possible. It’s work that mostly happens where nobody can see it.

So stop by. Come to any of our centers and ask about caregiver resources, or just come see what a regular Tuesday looks like around here. No appointment, no reason needed.