More than three in five of us will become unpaid carers in our lifetime which means that being an unpaid carer is widespread and common.
Despite this, many of us are not aware of who carers are, the challenges they may face, and how we can help.
You can help us!
- Do you work in a GP surgery, health centre or hospital where you are more likely to come into contact with people who have a carer (such as a partner, son or daughter) helping them at home?
- Do you work in a community centre, library, or charity where many of your visitors and service users have health needs and may have a carer to support them?
- Do you work in a school or college where some of the children or young people, as well as staff, may have caring responsibilities at the end of the school day?
- Do you work for a company where many of your colleagues may have caring responsibilities (perhaps for elderly parents, or disabled children) now or in the future?
You can click here to request free posters and leaflets for your organisation
Unpaid carers can be of any age, including children as young as five-years-old. They look after someone who needs help because of long-term illness (physical or mental), disability, frailty due to age, or addiction.
It often takes a long time for someone to recognise they are a carer. Over a third of carers take over three years to realise they are in fact an unpaid carer! The downside of this is that carers often struggle on alone, unsupported and isolated.
Caring Together Charity can provide practical support to help make sure carers are supported and don’t reach crisis point.
We can train you to become more aware of unpaid carers and the pressures they may be under, so they get support quicker.
