Carers Week is an annual opportunity to shout about the up to 10.6 million (Carers UK, 2022) amazing, unpaid people who support friends, family members and neighbours across Wales and the UK. If you support someone with an illness, frailty, disability, an addiction or who struggles with their mental health and that person could not manage without you, you are often known as Unpaid Carers, and Unpaid Carers are estimated to provide 96% of care in Wales (Social Care Wales research, 2017). The Census data in 2021 showed there are approximately 310,000 Unpaid Carers across Wales.
Credu is a charity working to support Unpaid Young Carers in Wrexham, Conwy and Denbighshire, and Unpaid Carers of all ages in Powys and Ceredigion. Over 7,500 people are currently registered with Credu, but we know there are many more out there, and we want to raise awareness that there is support available for you too.
We speak to Unpaid Carers every day and we have heard a few key themes coming up. The cost of living has continued to impact us all, and Carers often more than most. A quarter of carers (25%) are cutting back on essentials like food or heating and 63% are extremely worried about managing their monthly costs (Carers UK, State of Caring 2022). Carers are also under huge and increasing pressures, and many do not feel they are recognised for everything they do, and how hard it can be for them to get any kind of break. Many carers feel they are “not doing enough”, while balancing all the normal pressures of life on top of a caring role.
In 2024, the Carers Leave Act has come into effect, which entitles Unpaid Carers to up to 1 week of carer's leave every 12 months. We are also seeing the build-up to the UK General Election in July, and this is a really good opportunity to thank all of the communities, businesses and organisations that are already valuing, recognising and supporting Young and Adult Carers, but also to say that more could be done.
Carers Trust, who are, “an ambitious national charity committed to improving support and services for unpaid carers”, have three main asks both during the election campaign and for the next UK Government:
1. Stop pushing carers to the limit
2. End carer poverty
3. Commit to fair futures for young carers
For more information about Carers Trust’s campaigns, please visit https://carers.org.
If you would like to know more about making your organisation or community a better place for Unpaid Carers to live and work, we would love to collaborate with you. You could be part of a workplace, a school, college or university, a GP surgery or a pharmacy! Every supportive contact with an Unpaid Carer makes a difference. Please feel free to get in touch.
Most of all, if you are a person of any age with extra responsibility to support someone else, and you would like to know more about what support is out there for you, please know we are here for you.
Call us: 01597 823800 / 03330 143377
Browse our websites, and send us a website message.
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