Do you care for someone; a family member, friend or neighbour?Did you know that 3 in 5 of us will become a carer at some point in our lives? A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support.
Today, there are around 7 million carers, providing unpaid care to a family member, neighbour or friend in need. That’s around 10% of the population. Anyone can become a carer at anytime. Caring for someone takes place in our communities every day and is not age, gender, social class or culturally specific. We are living longer and as a consequence, the strain on our health and social care resources is growing. The UKs unpaid carers save the economy in excess of £119bn every year. Your contribution as a carer to the health economy has never mattered more.
Carers are on duty 24/7, 365 days a year and often find that they are disadvantaged financially and that their own health and wellbeing suffers. We know that many carers have to give up work or cut down their down their hours in order to care.
If you are on this page, it may be because you are already providing care to someone but maybe you don’t see yourself as a carer, in which case you may not be considering your own needs. The care you provide may include supporting someone with continence issues as well as other health and wellbeing related concerns. It is important that you stay fit and healthy if you are to continue to provide support to someone else. There are a range of entitlements that many people can source if they provide care to someone else. You may also need a break from your caring responsibilities.
This is where Carers Trust can help. Carers Trust is the largest charity providing support and breaks to carers. Carers Trust works to improve support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenge of caring, unpaid, for a family member or a friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. With a Network of Partners, we aim to ensure that information, advice and practical support such as advice on lifting and breaks are available to all carers across the UK.
Carers Trust works through a network of independent Crossroads Care schemes and carers centres to provide support to carers. This support may include:
- Information and advice
- Advocacy
- Emotional support
- Practical help
- Training and education
- Respire care breaks
To find your local service go to http://www.carers.org/carers-services/find-your-local-service and see what help is available
Carers Trust also runs a range of online support services via www.carers.org for adults, www.youngercarers.org for carers aged 16-25 and https://babble.carers.org/ for under 18 year olds. Through these services you can talk to other carers in similar situations, take part in chat room events and in discussion activities and talk to our qualified support team directly with the questions that matter to you most.
Caring for someone can be physically and emotionally exhausting so knowing what’s available to you is important. Make yourself count and take a look today. www.carers.org