Good morning everyone and welcome to Carers Week

Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contributions that you all make to families and communities throughout the UK. It also helps people who don't think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support. The theme for Carers Week 2021 is Make caring visible and valued.

Research released for Carers Week has found that carers lost, on average, 25 hours of support a month they previously had from services or family and friends before the pandemic.
  • More than a third (35%) of people caring unpaid for family members or friends feel unable to manage their caring role
  • 72% of carers have not had any breaks from their caring role during the pandemic
  • Carers Week charities call on Government to give back to carers and fund breaks
The six charities supporting Carers Week - Carers UK, Age UK, Carers Trust, Motor Neurone Disease Association, Oxfam GB and Rethink Mental Illness - are calling on the UK Government to provide £1.2 billion funding for unpaid carers’ breaks, so that those providing upwards of 50 hours of care are able to take time off for their own health and wellbeing.

You can read the full report here:
https://www.carersweek.org/media/2lzgzn ... report.pdf

We hope you have an enjoyable Carers Week and will be able to join some of the many events taking place online and face to face around the UK - see www.carersweek.org for details.

Thank you for all you do to make our Forum a supportive online community of carers and former carers.

With good wishes

Michael