Life & Work with Ken Reed of North Metro Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ken Reed.

Hi Ken, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a hospice chaplain and the owner of Caregivers Care Coaching and Consulting Services, a startup that helps family caregivers better support their loved ones. In my work as a hospice chaplain, I saw the need for families to understand better their role as caregivers, where help and services are available, and how to provide care without losing their minds.
I guess I have always been destined to do the work I do, as I love to serve others. My lived experience has prepared me, personally and professionally, to help other family caregivers. Many people tell me I have blessed them and brought remarkable calm and peace to whatever situation, circumstance, or environment I find myself in.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Since childhood, the road has never been easy, but I have embraced every challenge along the way. My family being homeless, my time spent in a foster home, my struggling single mom, and my struggles as a youngster in school were all obstacles or challenges that could have led me astray or to giving up.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have worked in many different areas in my adult life. I served in the United States Marine Corps for twenty-one years, specializing in Aviation logistics and Maintenance support. I was stationed and worked at many duty stations in the United States, Asia, and Europe. I retired from the Marines in 1996 and had the privilege of working for the U.S. Olympic Committee during the Atlanta Olympics as my first civilian job. I decided to attend seminary in Atlanta on my G.I. Bill and worked as a distribution manager and in corporate recruiting before the Great Recession of 2008. After being unemployed for a few months, I had an opportunity to enter social services. I was hired as a foster family consultant because of my undergraduate degree in Sociology and Management.
I actually loved the work as a case manager working with the foster families that took vulnerable children into their homes, and the biological families that needed support and help to get to a place where the children could be safely returned home to them. This was a great entry into social services and working with others who had needs. This work helped me better understand myself and the heart I have for helping others. I also had the opportunity to work in Georgia’s largest school system for a year as a Parent Mentor in the Special Education Department. I was actually one of the first two Parent Mentors hired for the role. I had a background as a parent with children who required special education services. The role required the Parent Mentor to support parents and teachers in better understanding the child’s needs and to facilitate collaboration between educators and parents to develop the best possible solutions to ensure the student’s educational needs were met. During this work experience, I completed my graduate studies in ministry. I spent seven years as a church planter and also worked on some church staffs during that time. During my time as a church planter, I had the opportunity to explore chaplaincy, starting as a marketplace chaplain. This work was gratifying, as I got to encourage and pray with business owners, C-suite executives, and their employees across many industries in the Metro Atlanta area. That chaplain’s work led me into healthcare chaplaincy, particularly hospice and palliative care.
I have been working in a hospice chaplain role for the past eleven years, and I believe this has been the best fit for my background, work experience, and call to ministry. As a hospice chaplain, I see the challenges most family caregivers face in caring for their loved ones, and I believe they need additional education, coaching, and support. This gave rise to Caregivers Care Coaching and Consulting Services Inc. The business is young but very needed as the population ages and more people take on caregiving roles. A famous quote from former First Lady Rosalind Carter says, “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers,” emphasizing that everyone is touched by caregiving, making support for these crucial individuals essential. There is a pressing need for services that train, support, coach, and encourage family caregivers. I look to reach as many communities as I can, but I have a heart for the elderly, the disabled, and underserved communities. I’m really not one to boast, but I’m proud of my ability to work with people and families from all kinds of backgrounds, belief systems, and ideologies.
What am I most proud of? My family, finding new siblings after age 60, and that God gives me the ability to be present and to meet people where they are, nonjudgmentally, even under the most challenging circumstances. What sets me apart from others? I’m still trying to figure that out. I continue to take it one day at a time, and one person or family at a time, to find that out.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I am a little old-school when it comes to using some of the newer technologies out there. However, I know that, to reach and help more people, I need to leverage technologies to support my goal of helping as many caregivers as I can. I am looking at starting a Podcast and blog in the near future.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kencares.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reedken

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