Carers UK is a charity set up to help the millions of people who care for a partner, family member or friend. When caring affects your family, Carers UK is here to provide the support and advice you need.
Our services which carers describe as a lifeline include
- providing information and advice about caring
- offering support 24/7
- campaigning to make life better for carers
Providing information and advice
Expertise
Carers UK's free phone advice line is run by experts. Last year we advised 16,000 carers on their rights, benefits and practical help. One call to our experts can make a difference
- Four in ten callers improved their incomes directly
- Five in ten got extra practical support
- Our advice helped 4,000 carers remain in or return to work.
"I did not realise I was entitled to this extra money. This will make such a difference to my children. I won't have to shop all the time in charity shops and I can buy a new pair of shoes for my eldest child too."
Reaching new carers
Most carers simply do not know what help is available. We run Carers Rights Day every year to raise awareness of carers' rights and entitlements.
"I was in my local pharmacy getting a prescription when I saw your leaflet with advice on benefits and pensions. It's such a good place to have them - I don't think I would've picked one up elsewhere." A carer who wrote to us after Carers Rights Day.
Supporting carers 24/7
Online forum
Our online support forum is a genuine lifeline for carers who can talk to other carers about the ups and downs of caring, anytime day or night and helping them to feel less isolated or alone. One anonymous carer says:
"I was staring at the ceiling in despair and now I have fallen among friends. Even though we may not have met or even spoken, you all probably know more about me than many of the people I´ve known for years. Thank you for always being there – for listening and for helping."
Carers UK branches
Run by a dedicated team of volunteers who are carers or former carers themselves, our branches provide support such as befriending, shopping and a listening ear as well as help to shape local services.
Examples of how they help include our Plymouth branch organising a boat trip to give carers a much needed break and our Leeds branch helping hospitals to improve support for carers.
Carers and work
Around half of all carers juggle their caring responsibilities with some form of paid work. 1 in 5 carers are forced to give up work. Carers UK set up Employers for Carers to help employers support their staff with caring responsibilities.
Chaired by BT, over 50 companies belong to Employers for Carers. Recent members include Sainsbury's, the Cooperative Group and the Foreign Office, who together, reach over 1,000,000 employees.
Campaigning to make life better for carers
Public understanding
We improve public understanding of caring through our media work. In 2010 our newspaper articles, including a week long campaign 'Caring for carers' in the Daily Mirror, hit a readership of 48 million people.
Making change happen
Our campaigns give carers a voice, making sure they are at the heart of recent policy changes on work, pensions and health and social care provision.
Working in partnership
We belong to a partnership of charities which organise Carers Week each year to celebrate the contribution carers make to society and reach out to new carers.
