While many retirees may be browsing holiday brochures, there are thousands of seniors out there juggling school runs and after-school activities as they go from raising their own kids to caring for their grandkids full-time.

We talk to charity Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG)’s Tatum McKay about what GRG does and the challenges these retirees face.

Married with two teenage sons, Tatum McKay took over the care of her teenage sister (25 years her junior) after her father passed in 2014, so she has a personal understanding of the challenges of being a whānau caregiver.

With a background in multinational leadership roles and leadership coaching, Tatum stepped in as interim GRG chief executive last year, before recently moving on to a trustee role on the GRG board. GRG currently has over 6,400 members.

What changes have you noticed in your time at GRG so far?

Even in the short time I have been in this space, I have seen a real tightening of available funding opportunities and increased competition amongst organisations fighting for funding. New Zealand has a high density of charities and not-for-profits, but it has become increasingly competitive with the changing political landscape.

What trends are you seeing around grandparents caring for grandchildren?

Pressure on the economy always squeezes our most vulnerable communities the hardest. With increases in drug dependency and incarceration, more grandparents need to step into this space - often with limited resources at their disposal.

The economic climate is challenging for many, but for grandparents taking on additional caregiver responsibilities, there are often fundamental limitations on how they can increase accessible income at their stage of life.

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What challenges do these grandparents face, and is it getting any easier?

The main challenges are around understanding and accessing the resources available to them to get support. They will often have needs that span things like unlocking financial assistance, understanding the family court system, access to healthcare or disability support for the children in their care, or what respite care might be available.

This is one of the most valuable areas in which GRG can help our members. We help them navigate the various systems to unlock entitlements and understand their rights and those of the children in their care. Often, the children are traumatised and/or have high needs, so there are extra challenges this can bring to families.

What do grandparents need the most help with when taking on a caring role like this?

Often, they can become disconnected from their usual social circles as their day-to-day reality changes. It can become more challenging to keep in contact with their peers doing the more usual retirement activities while they’re knee-deep in the school run or figuring out the family court system or how to deal with Work and Income.

Our nationwide support groups provide a safe space for connection with others navigating the same challenges. We have a wonderful group of volunteers across the motu who tirelessly give their time and energy to run these groups and provide on-the-ground support to our members.

What issue currently keeps you up at night?

How we work to ensure better systems are in place to care for our most vulnerable and how we do the best we can for our members and the children in their care with limited resources at our disposal.