Carers Week

Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales would like to highlight the incredible work of unpaid carers in West Wales which will be celebrated during Carers Week 7th – 13th  June. 

A West Wales charity is using this week’s Carers Week to shine a spotlight on the incredible extra work undertaken by local unpaid carers during the pandemic. The theme of this year’s Carers Week is ‘Making Carers Visible and Valued’.

Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales is also calling for the incredible contribution made by Carmarthenshire carers to be recognised and for extra funding to be made available to support local unpaid carers so they feel valued for all the care they have provided, and continue to provide.

The number of hours spent looking after a family member unable to care for themselves rocketed for many local carers during the pandemic. This was because many essential support services and day centres for both carers and those they care for were forced to close following the lockdowns.

Even before the pandemic, unpaid carers were exhausted. Two thirds of them were spending fifty hours or more each week caring for a family member or friend, according to Carers Trust – a national charity that operates a network of over 120 local partner services including Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales.

Coronavirus made a bad situation even worse for unpaid carers in Carmarthenshire. A Carers Trust survey found that lockdown and closure of local services meant that one in six carers were having to work an additional forty hours a week on top of what they had already been doing.

How Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales has been supporting unpaid carers in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion through the pandemic:

Money raised by Carers Trust allows the national charity to provide grants to unpaid carers via its local partner services – like Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales. The Carers Trust grants mean that Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales can:

• Help Carmarthenshire carers buy essential household items like fridges and washing machines that would otherwise be unaffordable.
• Fund group activities for unpaid carers, bringing them together with other local carers and addressing loneliness and isolation.
• Provide exhausted unpaid carers with a grant to pay for a respite break so they can get some much-needed time to themselves in the knowledge that the person they care for is being looked after.

With help from the Carers Trust grant, Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales has supported many carers throughout Carmarthenshire to access essential items and much needed breaks which helped to ease the pressures of their caring role.  

Mrs Lewis of Llanelli was one of the unpaid carers who benefited from the support. She said: “Thank you for all of your help and kindness, I can’t express enough how grateful we are as a family”.

Alison Harries, CEO Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales said:

“Life is hard for unpaid carers at the best of times let alone this last year of the pandemic.  Caring is a rewarding experience but challenging too. Carers are often so focused on the person they care for that they can neglect concerns for themselves, and as a result, their own health can be significantly affected, but no matter what they always put the needs of the person they care for first.  This week we are recognising, and celebrating, the vital contribution made these unsung heroes during this pandemic, where they are still affected due to restricted services.  We strive to get the voices of Carers heard, and making them Visible and Valued.

Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales have a full range of activities planned throughout Carers Week – to find out what is going on and to book a place please visit www.ctcww.org.uk or ring 0300 0200 002.

If you are an unpaid carer in need of support, or you know an unpaid carer who needs support, please visit www.carers.org to find local support in your area.