July - Gloucestershire Carers

Carers in Gloucestershire is an independent charity helping unpaid Carers in Gloucestershire.  Being a Carer can be isolating and exhausting. We offer support for Carers to help not only their physical and emotional well-being, but to help them to make informed decisions that have a positive, lasting influence on their lives.

A Carer is anyone who gives unpaid support to look after someone who is unable to look after themselves. They can be any age, gender or culture.  They may be looking after a relative, partner or friend who is ill or frail, or maybe injured after an accident; they may be caring for someone disabled or who has mental health issues; or they could be looking after a child with substance misuse problems – there is no template.

Carers don’t choose to become Carers.  It is something that they do because, if they don’t, there may not be anyone else who can. In Gloucestershire alone there are around 63,000 Carers – and this number is growing.

We have a network of 50 Carer support groups in Gloucestershire offering friendship, advice and help.  Caring for someone means you can’t always get out of the house so we have ‘Carers Line’ offering advice for Carers.  Our team can give you advice on money and benefits, arrange counselling, help you plan for the future, and even pop you down for training courses and well-being treatments that help you feel, even if it’s for just an hour, that you are looked after.

We also have a Carers’ Emergency Scheme. This means that if you are ill we can make sure that the person you look after will be supported.

We can support you with funding for a much-needed short break. And now we even have our own static caravan by the sea to give you the chance of a holiday – and some desperately needed, uninterrupted sleep.
Post-caring, Carers may need support to rebuild a life of their own and reconnect with education, work or a social life.

Carers are the largest source of unpaid care and support in each area of the UK, in Gloucestershire alone last year they saved the County £540 million.

You can call the Carers’ Line now on
 ( 0300 111 9000

or visit Carers in Gloucestershire website by clicking here

Mary Michael