Warwickshire County Council is marking Carers Week 2021 by celebrating everyone who has a caring responsibility for...
A family member, neighbour or friend who could not cope without them. Caring for someone who is getting older, has a physical, mental illness, disability or who struggles with substance misuse, can be rewarding but it can also be very challenging at times. We support our carers and want to safeguard their health and wellbeing.
This year’s Carers Week theme, ‘making caring visible’ shines a spotlight on our caring community. Along with our partners, Carers Trust (Heart of England) and Warwickshire Young Carers, we host a number of services that are made available to new and existing informal carers.
Throughout the week, the council will be sharing information about services and the experiences of carers across its social media channels, mainly, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. News releases and advertising across local newspapers will help signpost residents to help and advice.
A carers support leaflet, which lists support from mental health and wellbeing services, through to specialist advice on conditions such as dementia, is available to download from the council's website.
Cllr Margaret Bell, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care & Health at Warwickshire County Council said: “Every day our family and friends fulfil a vital role in our communities helping others to be safe, well, and independent and we applaud everything they do for us. Those who care also need support and we want them to recognise this and seek it out. Carers Week offers us an opportunity to remind carers of all the services available for them in Warwickshire, and more than anything, to let them know that Warwickshire cares and will help to provide access to what they may need.
She added: “We would also like to encourage all informal carers to register their caring role with either their GP or the Carers Trust so they can readily access the right support.”
Warwickshire County Council also commissions health, wellbeing and planned break services to ensure residents who care remember to look after themselves too. In particular, there is the Warwickshire Carer Wellbeing Service by Carers Trust Heart of England which helps provide wellbeing and practical support to those who care for someone. It also provides opportunities for carers to network with each other and if appropriate can help to arranged planned breaks should the carer need to unexpectedly leave the person they care for.
Care Companion is a website designed for carers by carers. With access to personalised advice and information, the website also offers useful articles and forms, an address book with details of local support groups, a journal function for carers to record information and a to-do list to help manage daily tasks.
Specific commissioned services for young carers are also available from Warwickshire Young Carers. These services include virtual events and get-togethers and its Future Me, Future Proof programme, which works with young people from 14-21 to help them achieve their future goals and aspirations.
To find out more about caring in Warwickshire and to join in with the conversation during Carers Week 2021, please follow Warwickshire County Council across its Twitter and Facebook accounts, @Warwickshire_CC and Warwickshire County Council, respectively. Please use the hashtags #carersweek2021 #makingcaringvisibleandvalued
For service information and support go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/carers