Carers Rights Day

Thursday 21 November is Carers Rights Day and this year’s theme is “Helping you find your way”.

Every day 6,000 people in the UK become carers, and rarely are they able to plan for it.

From the outset you may find yourself needing to talk to health and social care providers; negotiate with your employer about juggling work with caring; dealing with the complexities of the benefits system and thinking about how to fund future care costs.

All of this while coming to terms with your caring responsibilities means that caring can feel overwhelming, bewildering and stressful.

Carers UK are joining with organisations across the nation to help carers find their way in their local community. They aim to empower carers to find any assistance that will benefit them and help them to cope with the pressures of caring.

How we can help

Contacting your local carer’s organisation for help is one of the first steps you should take on your caring journey. Our Support Workers can help you to find your way to the right information and support when you need it.

Carers Assessment

All carers are entitled to a Carers Assessment from their local authority. In Allerdale and Copeland West Cumbria Carers carry out these assessments on behalf of Cumbria County Council.

The purpose of the assessment is to discuss the support YOU need to carry out your caring role as well as identifying what help is available locally and how you can access it.

Click the links to read more about Adult Carers Assessments or Young Carers Assessments.

Benefit Clinics

The additional costs involved when living with illness or disability can cause people to struggle financially, the money you may be entitled to can make a huge difference, however, it can be very difficult to find the time to understand all the different rules and regulations about the different benefits you might be eligible for and that’s before you’ve even started to fill in the forms!

Our Benefit Support Worker can help you deal with the intricacies of the benefits system as well as completing applications for Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Carers Allowance, Carers Credit and DLA.

Benefit Clinics are held regularly in Libraries across West Cumbria - for dates and more information please click here.

Working Carers

There are a number of employee rights which, depending on individual circumstances, could benefit carers who also work.

These include the right to ask your employer for flexible working arrangements, time of for emergencies and parental leave.

More information about these rights can be found in the Working & Caring section of the website.

Equipment and Adaptations

There are a range of different types of equipment and adaptations which could make your life easier and provide the person you care for with more independence.

You may be able to get help with the cost of these following a needs assessment for the person you care for.

Click the links below for more information or to request a needs assessment from Cumbria County Council.

Assessment for Cared For aged 18+ https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/healthsocialcare/ccc/careassessments.asp

Assessment for Cared For under 18 http://search3.openobjects.com/kb5/cumbria/fsd/family.page?familychannel=5-5-2

Having the right information at the right time can make a huge difference when you are looking after someone.

Remember if you are in doubt, you can look on our website as well as talk to us here at the office.

If you want to know more about Carers Rights you can access a wealth of information online, below are some useful links:

• Carers UK http://www.carersuk.org/
• Carers Trust http://www.carers.org/
• Citizens Advice Allerdale  http://www.allerdalecab.org.uk/
• Citizens Advice Copeland  https://citizensadvice.citizensadvice.org.uk/copelandcab.htm
• Department for Work & Pensions https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions