Fareham and Gosport and Districts Branch
Fareham and Gosport and Districts Branch
Carers Support
A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support.
As a carer you may be:
- caring for a spouse, parent, child or friend
- living with a person for whom you care or your help may enable them to live alone
- providing nursing care or keeping a ‘watching brief’
- offering emotional and practical support
- feeling responsible for the welfare of someone who relies on you as without your help they could not cope
How does caring affect your life?
Although for many carers, caring can have positive and rewarding aspects, there are lots of reasons why caring can also leave you needing support.
Caring can have an impact on many aspects of your life — below are some of these topics, and how and where you can access support and information.
Money and benefits
Caring can lead to poverty if you have to give up work to care or are managing on benefits. The aids and equipment needed to help care can add an extra drain on tight finances.
Carers in poverty will not be able to afford do the things that many of us take for granted, such as buying new or warm clothes, heating the house, house repairs, going on holiday or a short break, running a car or paying a bus fare.
Becoming a carer can feel like a constant battle to access help for you and the person you care for, for example getting the right diagnosis for your child’s condition, appropriate support at school for a young carer in your family, adaptations to the home, and benefits and other financial help.
Health and wellbeing
Caring can make you physically exhausted – you might be getting up several times in the night as well as caring throughout the day. You might need to lift and support an adult who is a lot heavier than you. You might be juggling caring with looking after the rest of your family and holding down a job.
Caring can leave you emotionally exhausted because of the strain of seeing someone you care about experiencing pain, distress or discomfort.
Caring can lead to stress, depression and other mental health issues. Caring can affect your relationship with your partner or other family members.
If you are caring in a couple you may no longer be able to have the physical or emotional life you had together, nor enjoy shared activities or plan for a future together.
Getting out and about
Caring can be isolating as you may find you can rarely leave the house.
It may be hard to sustain friendships or develop new ones or keep up with interests and activities you may have previously enjoyed.
Useful Carers Contacts
The section below contains the names and titles of organisations which may be able to provide help to you. Click on a title or the + symbol to reveal more details.
Fareham Carers Hub
– a monthly Carers meeting
Carers are invited to come along and:
-
- Meet other carers in the area.
- Access Carer Support Information from other organisations and their Professionals who will be in attendance.
- There will be workshops.
- lunch will be available.
- There will be information on how to create an Emergency Plan
- The CARED FOR are also VERY VERY welcome.
The HUB will run on the last Thursday of each month, from 11am to 4pm. It meets at: St Margaret Mary RC Church, Middle Road, Park Gate, FAREHAM, SO31 7GH.
For further information please call 01264 835 246 or 01264 835 205.
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Hampshire
Operates the Emergency Planning for Carers Project
Their dedicated team will provide you with support to discuss, develop and implement an emergency plan. Up to 48hrs free care may be available for the person you care for in the event of an emergency. Call them on 0800 169 1577 for further information.
Carers assessment
If you need support in your caring role, you have a right to a carers assessment , regardless of the amount or type of care you provide your financial circumstances or your level of need for support. You can have an assessment whether or not the person you care for has had an assessment of their needs. You can find out more by visiting this site: Carer Assessment (Hants County Council Social Care website) or phone: Hampshire County Council on 0300 555 1386
Take a break scheme
This scheme can only be accessed after a carers assessment, but offers an opportunity for carers to have regular short breaks from caring.
https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/adultsocialcare/supportforcarers/respitebreak
Carers Direct
They can help with an emergency plan on 0808 802 0202 and offer a Carer’s Emergency Card to be used in the event of your accident or illness with contact details.
Carer Smart
Offers a discount scheme for carers e.g. from high street retailers, energy providers, lifestyle activities etc. https://carers.org/article/carersmart
Carers Trust
Carers may be able to apply for grants for items or activities that will benefit you in your caring role e.g. for breaks for carers, items in the home, short term care etc.
Carers Allowance
If you look after someone for 35 hours a week or more you may be eligible for this benefit.
Connect to support
Hampshire County Council’s website offering information about health and wellbeing, managing at home, equipment/aids and paying for care. www.ConnectToSupportHampshire.org.uk
‘A guide to better care and support’ – practical information and advice for people to want to remain living in their homes (financial help, living with disabilities, managing at home, health and wellbeing).
https://www.hants.gov.uk 0300 555 1386 to order a copy.
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