I’m writing this in the middle of Carers’ Week, and I hope that many of you have either read or had your attention drawn to this special week of awareness by the press and national & local television & radio.

Voluntary care is saving the Treasury an estimated £57 billion pounds a year but as reported in The Daily Telegraph “ most of those involved are paying a heavy price “.

I’m often invited to NHS or Social Service gatherings to give the perspective of a Carer and I usually come away from them feeling as if I’m wearing the ‘martyrs badge’, especially if I’ve told them how really hard, exhausting and demanding it can be.

I usually have a prepared ‘speech’ to deliver but quite often some other person’s presentation will set me off in another direction, and a carefully structured piece of work goes out the window and I deliver my presentation from the heart.

I remember a young stroke survivor telling a group of stroke specialists how his loving relationship with his wife had changed so much, because of the help he needed with personal care, that she became motherly and their relationship ended in divorce. I then followed on and told the conference that as far as I knew Rog, who was 54 when he had his stroke, hadn’t been troubled by the fact that I had taken on that different role, but I promised to ask him when I got home.

How we face up to being taken care of and taking on extra roles is really up to the individual and I’m sure that many of us find our lives changes beyond recognition, whilst others just change gear and adapt without appearing to have much difficulty.

Bearing in mind the vital roles we Carers play I wonder how many of you have been invited recently to attend interviews which are aimed at ‘getting you back into work’? A multi-caring Carer I know who looks after 2 children with special needs, a disabled husband and an elderly parent, was told in no uncertain terms that she HAD TO ATTEND for an interview. Roger’s suggestion was that she should take the children, who are very disruptive, and her husband and father with her into the interview room when she went… Can you imagine the uproar in the Jobcentre? But should she really have to take such action, what about the £ 57 billion she and 6 million others like her are helping to save the country ?

The East Riding of Yorkshire Carers’ Support team have advised anyone who receives such a letter to telephone their local Jobcentre and explain their circumstances. THERE IS NO OBLIGATION TO ATTEND AN INTERVIEW IF THIS CALL IS MADE, but if you simply ignore it there is a good chance that all benefits would be stopped.

Value yourselves, and be kind to yourselves…
Looking forward to seeing you on July the 6th at the AGM.
Val