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On Wednesday 22 January Carers NI hosted a parliamentary event at Parliament Buildings, Stormont. Attendees included unpaid carers, MLAs and key stakeholders from the community and voluntary sector.

The event aimed to shine a spotlight on the reality of daily life for unpaid carers living in Northern Ireland. The carers who shared their stories on the day spoke of their own exhaustion and, at times, despair as they struggled to balance their own health and wellbeing with the needs of the person or people they were caring for.

One carer, who shared her story on the day, spoke of how she had just three full-nights of sleep within a six-year period, and of how she felt that her needs were often not taken into consideration by health and social care services. She spoke of how she reached breaking point on multiple occasions and yet how she was simply expected to keep going.

Another carer spoke of how she had to give up her career in nursing in order to carry out her caring responsibilities and how she felt let down by the reduction in wellbeing services available to unpaid carers who are in desperate need of regular respite.

The message in the room was clear – unpaid carers need support and they need it now.

Transformation of the health and social care system is vital not only to ensure that services are delivered for people who are being cared for, but also to ensure the care and support needs of those delivering unpaid care are being met.

Our thanks to Kellie Armstrong, MLA, who sponsored and hosted the event on the day, as well as to Junior Ministers, Aisling Reilly and Pam Cameron who voiced their gratitude for the contribution that unpaid carers make every day. Thanks are also due to Alyson Kilpatrick, Chief Commissioner for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, for her contributions to the panel discussion, and to the unpaid carers, Helen and Deborah, as well as those in the audience, who spoke so openly and honestly about their experiences.

We would also like to thank the unpaid carers who shared their stories in a new booklet launched on the day, which highlights their experiences of providing unpaid care, as well as their hopes for the future. Click here to read our carers' stories booklet.

Carers NI are now calling on decision makers and legislators in Northern Ireland to take action and deliver tangible support and legislative change which will help unpaid carers both today and into the future.

We urge the Northern Ireland Executive to prioritise the needs of carers within the Programme for Government and to deliver the meaningful legislative change which will benefit unpaid carers and the people they care for.

Any policy or legislative changes must uphold unpaid carer’s rights, as laid out in our Carers Rights Charter, which was co-produced with unpaid carers and other expert stakeholders.

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