FLORENCE, Wis. — Providing care for a friend or family member can be a rewarding experience, but it often provides challenges, too.

More than 65 million family caregivers in America provide a vast array of emotional, financial, nursing, homemaking and other services on a daily or intermittent basis and often find themselves struggling to meet the needs of both their loved one and themselves.

The Aging and Disability Resource Center of Florence County is sponsoring Powerful Tools for Caregivers, an educational workshop series designed to provide caregivers with ways to better care for themselves.

Participants will learn how to reduce stress, improve self-confidence, better communicate feelings, find life balance, increase their ability to make tough decisions and locate helpful resources.

The class will meet for six weeks, Sept. 17 through Oct.22, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays in the lower level conference room at the Florence Natural Resource Center. Two leaders from the ADRC will conduct each class. Interactive lessons, discussions and brainstorming will help determine which of the “tools” is best suited for each participant’s situation and how to put them into action.

The $10 registration fee covers the six weekly sessions and “The Caregiver’s Helpbook,” a guide.

The ADRC of Florence County will provide free, on-site respite care during the class. If the care recipient is unable to come to class, the ADRC may be able to provide reimbursement for securing other respite care.

For more information on the workshop, respite care or resources for caregivers, contact the ADRC by calling 715-528-4890, or by stopping anytime between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays in room 125 on the lower level of the Florence County Courthouse, 501 Lake Ave. in Florence.

To register for the workshop, contact Maria Bournoville or Tiffany White at the ADRC by Tuesday, Sept. 10. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged.