Carers Week 2017

Building Carer Friendly Communities 12-18 JUNE 2017

Eight major charities have combined forces to get communities across the UK involved, encouraging people to register events and pledge support in the run-up to Carers Week 2017 (12-18 June) – a national awareness week that celebrates and recognises the vital contribution made by the 6.5 million people across the UK who currently provide unpaid care for a disabled, ill or older family member or friend.

David Mowat MP, Minister for Community Health and Care, joined senior representatives from the Carers Week charities, NHS, local government and business to launch community engagement for Carers Week on 23rd February encouraging local organisations, the public and carers to get involved in the week and pledge their support to build Carer Friendly communities.

Carers Week helps the public to understand more about caring, highlights the challenges carers face and celebrates the contribution carers make to their families and communities throughout the UK. The campaign galvanises support from all corners of society, including individuals, local organisations, businesses, politicians and the media. It will also be a time of intensive local activity with thousands of events taking place across the UK.

Caring can be a rewarding experience but without the right support many carers find themselves facing financial hardship, ill-health, emotional stress, relationship breakdown and isolation.

Carers Week 2017 will again focus on building Carer Friendly Communities – places that understand a carer’s daily reality and do what they can to make life a little bit easier for them. For example, a GP practice might offer appointment times that fit around someone’s caring responsibilities, or an employer might support employees who juggle work with care to work flexible hours or take time off.

Keith Bowen, Director of Carers Wales on behalf of Carers Week, said:

“Carers Week is a fantastic way to celebrate the vital contribution carers make to our families, communities and wider society. We know that caring for a loved one can be a rewarding experience, but without the right support at the right time, caring can also have a huge impact on a carer’s emotional and physical health, work and finances.

“Carers have told us that it makes a huge difference to their lives when they are supported by their local services and communities; building Carer Friendly communities, whether that’s offering a flexible GP appointment, having flexible working policies or raising awareness in schools of caring, can make a positive difference.

“We want the public to recommend Carer Friendly communities and urge everyone to pledge their support to carers and make a change.”

There are lots of different ways to get involved in Carers Week:

· Visit the Carers Week website www.carersweek.org and:

Recommend an organisation or service that is carer friendly
Pledge your support for Carers Week and carry out a change that will help your organisation or service to become more carer friendly
Run an activity or event and add it to the Carers Week website
Follow Carers Week on Twitter @CarersWeek and use the hashtag #carersweek
Like Carers Week on Facebook at www.facebook.com/carersweek and join in with the discussions

Carers Week 2017 is made possible by Carers UK joining forces with Age UK, Carers Trust, Independent Age, Macmillan Cancer Support, Motor Neurone Disease Association, MS Society and Which? Elderly Care and kindly supported by Nutricia Advanced Medical Nutrition and the Lockwood Foundation.

For more information, visit: www.carersweek.org

About Carers Week 2017

Carers Week will take place from 12-18 June 2017, across the UK.

Carers Week is an annual awareness campaign which takes place to celebrate and recognise the vital contribution made by the UK’s 6.5 million carers. It is also a time of intensive local activity with thousands of events planned for carers across the UK.

Website: www.carersweek.org

Twitter: @CarersWeek #carersweek

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersWeek

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CarersWeek

What is a carer?

A carer is someone who provides unpaid care and support to a family member or friend who has a disability, illness, mental health problem or who needs extra help as they grow older.

For some, taking on a caring role can be sudden: someone in your family has an accident or your child is born with a disability. For others, caring creeps up unnoticed: your parents can’t manage on their own any longer or your partner’s health gradually worsens.

The amount and type of support that carers provide varies considerably. It can range from a few hours a week, such as picking up prescriptions and preparing meals, to providing care day and night.

Caring will touch each and every one of us in our lifetime, whether we become a carer or need care ourselves. Whilst caring can be a rewarding experience, it can also have a damaging impact on a person’s health, finances and relationships.

To find out how you can get support in your caring role, visit: www.carersweek.org/support

Facts about carers

6.5 million people in the UK are carers; that’s 1 in 8 adults (Census 2011)
By 2037, it is estimated that the number of carers in the UK will rise to 9 million (Carers UK)
Every day another 6,000 people take on a caring responsibility – that equals over 2 million people every year (Carers UK)
58% of carers are women and 42% are men (Census 2011)
Carers save the economy £132 billion per year, an average of £19,336 per carer (Carers UK, University of Sheffield, University of Leeds)
Over 3 million people juggle care with work, however the significant demands of caring mean that 1 in 5 carers are forced to give up work altogether (Carers UK)
A BBC Survey (2010) estimated there are more than 700,000 young carers
There are 376,000 young adult carers in the UK aged 16-25 (Census 2011)
1 in 5 people aged 50-64 are carers (Carers Trust)

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