It’s come to that time of year again where it’s Carer’s Week. The 6th June - 12th June is the national week to raise awareness for carers. This year's theme is about “making caring, visible, valued and supported” [i]. A large majority of unpaid carers feel they are the invisible workforce, where many give up their careers, social life, and financial security to look after family members or friends [ii].
What happens after Carers Week?
Yes, Carers Week is a great time to spread awareness about carers. But does it end up being forgotten about the rest of the year? It feels like this might be the case. Remember this tweet from Boris Johnson last year?
On behalf of all the organisations involved with #CarersWeek this year, we want to thank the Prime Minister @BorisJohnson for talking about the essential role unpaid carers play at the beginning of Prime Minister’s Questions today. Let’s all #MakeCaringVisibleAndValued. #PMQs pic.twitter.com/80KORIaySb
— Carers Week (@carersweek) June 9, 2021
A new report by Carers Trust shows 91% of unpaid family carers feel ignored by the government [iii]. With the rising cost of living, it’s a greater time for the government to step in and help this large, invisible workforce. Earlier last month, a government minister suggested that “people struggling with the cost of living should take on more hours or move to a better-paid job” [iv].
A government minister has suggested that people struggling with the cost of living should take on more hours or move to a better-paid job.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 16, 2022
Read more: https://t.co/x0S3ZgrhX6 pic.twitter.com/cFflaiyDxg
It’s not as easy for unpaid carers to do this. Consider how can unpaid family carers move jobs when their first focus is the person they care for?
How are we helping?
At Bridgit Care, we’ve created a free online support tool where, by answering a few questions and selecting your current challenges, you will be sent an online report with suggested tasks, goals to accomplish, local services and nearby events, as well as informative video content.
The online report gives you guidance on how to help the person you care for as well as suggestions to managing your own health, finances, employment and general wellbeing. The benefit of using this tool is that it brings you all the relevant information you need, into one place, which you can revisit at any time, share with others, and amend as you grow and learn. You can learn more about our online support tool here.
