All Carers Can Benefit From a Break

A break from caring is important for recharging the batteries, spending time with others and maintaining health, wellbeing and quality of life. Excessive care roles increase the risk of developing health problems that might prevent people from caring for their loved ones, so breaks can also help carers to continue caring better and for longer.

Some carers are less likely to access a break than others

In Gateshead, we see far fewer male carers, carers from the LGBTQ+ community, and carers for people with a substance or alcohol addiction accessing a regular break from caring. There can be many reasons for this. Men often feel reluctant to reach out for help and will play down the impact caring has on their health and wellbeing. LGBTQ+ carers can feel that services don’t understand their particular circumstances and can worry about discrimination. Carers for people with an addiction might not recognise themselves as carers, whilst also finding it hard to ask for help due to the stigma and secrecy often associated with addiction.

Time For Me!

We’re extremely pleased to have received a grant from the national Carers Trust’s Time for Me! programme to provide additional support to male carers, LGBTQ+ carers, and carers for someone with an alcohol or substance addiction.
Carers Trust recognises that there is a huge need for carers to have a break. Thanks to funds raised through the HRH The Princess Royal Respite Fund for Carers, they’re providing grants to projects around the UK so that they can offer additional support to carers who are under-represented within their service.

It’s hoped that the grants will help to reduce the isolation that carers experience and increase resilience and optimism around life balance.

What’s on Offer?

We’ll provide Carer Support Workers to regularly take over the care role so that carers can have some time out. Carer Support Workers can stay in the carer’s home so that they can go out or can take the person with care needs out into the community so that the carer can have some time to themself at home.
Our Carer Support Workers can carry out most caring tasks, such as personal care, meal preparation, feeding or just providing company. We discuss this with carers before support starts and plan a service with them around their needs.

Services through the Time for Me! programme will generally be for four hours per week over five weeks.

At the end of this, staff will discuss any other ways that we might still be able to offer support. You can find out more about our Care Service here

Group Activities

In addition to breaks from caring, we’ll be offering some group activities. This will be an opportunity for carers to come together and socialise while doing something fun, interesting or relaxing. We don’t know what the activities will be yet – we’ll be speaking to carers in the new year to find out more about what they’d like to do.

Get in Touch!

Click here to get in touch about the Time for Me! Programme and someone will get back to you soon.

Alternatively, you can call Anthony Lea on 01207 549780.