In honour of International Day of Charity, we have partnered with Suffolk Family Carers. Here is a quick blog they wrote for us about what they are doing for Family Caregivers in England.
At Suffolk Family Carers, we believe in unpaid family carers Living Fuller Lives.
For over 30 years, we have provided information, advice and support to thousands of family carers throughout the English rural county of Suffolk. Through working with family carers, we campaign on issues that affect them directly and ensure their voices is heard – enabling them to have a life of their own alongside their caring role.
Currently in the United Kingdom, over 6.5 million people are unpaid carers and it’s estimated to rise dramatically in the next few years – meaning more people than ever are looking after loved ones and neighbours on an unpaid basis.
Suffolk Family Carers
In 1988, Suffolk Family Carers was formed – a charitable organisation that puts unpaid carers at the heart of what matters.
Since our establishment, we have continued to work alongside our partners within local government as well as community stakeholders and other charitable organisations to ensure family carers of all ages do not miss out on receiving training, support and advice despite the physical and mental toil of their caring role.
We strongly believe in the power of partnership working and that a problem shared is a problem halved – and running ideas by others who also aim to support family carers is an ideal opportunity to learn and develop. This is exactly the reason why on #InternationalDayofCharity we are linking up with Family Caregivers of British Columbia – to learn from their experiences and to share ideas on how to best support those who care for loved ones.
What we do
Information Line: Our information line is available to telephone for anyone who wants to talk to our highly trained advisers about anything care-related. Open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday, you can telephone us on 01473 835 477.
Carers Assessments: Due to having a caring role, a carer may be eligible for a carer’s assessment. This is an opportunity to discuss the support and services are needed and how caring affects a carers life – and we can carry out the assessment.
Community Connector: Since 2017, we have worked with the local council, Suffolk County Council, to provide a Community Connector scheme for rural areas within our county. On our specialist bus, we go out to rural areas to offer support and help to those who are socially isolated and due to their caring role, are unable to travel.
Respite: We offer support to family carers who are as young as 5 years old and due to this, have dedicate young and young adult carer teams as well as our adult and mental health teams. We offer carers of all ages a chance for respite from their caring role through activities as diverse as football through to swimming and reading clubs, too!
Hospital & GP Working: We know how important it is to work with medical and health professionals and due to this, we have trained advisers who work within hospitals and doctors surgeries throughout the county. Our staff can work with professionals in identifying family carers which can quickly lead to help being offered to them.
Courses: We run courses for family carers to attend for free of charge in all corners of our county. The courses are tailored to meet the needs of specific family carers – from those who care caring for those with mental health issues through to carers of those with substance misuse issues.
We hope this is a useful introduction to what Suffolk Family Carers is as an organisation and what we offer unpaid family carers in our area. For more information on what we do, please head over to our website: www.suffolkfamilycarers.org or get in contact on our information line on 01473 835 477.