Carers Trust. Who We Are, How We Help

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1 Carers Trust Who We Are, How We Help

2 About Carers Trust Carers Trust works to improve support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenges of caring, unpaid, for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. With our Network Partners carers centres and schemes we aim to ensure that information, advice and practical support are available to all carers across the UK. Although Carers Trust is a new charity formed by the merger of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care, we ve been supporting carers since 1974, when Crossroads Care was first established. Why do carers need support? Caring is rarely something you can plan for. Today, one in ten people in the UK are carers that s six million people. But over the next 30 years, as more of us live for longer, the number of carers will increase by 3.4 million. Anyone could be a carer a 15-year-old girl looking after a parent with an alcohol problem, a 40-year-old man caring for his partner who has terminal cancer, or an 80-year-old woman looking after her husband who has Alzheimer s disease. Carers all make enormous sacrifices, often putting aside their education, careers, social lives, and even their health, in order to care. Three in five people will become a carer in their lifetime. One day, either you or someone you are close to, may need the support of Carers Trust. Erika, 51, cares for Clare, her 18-year-old daughter who has Down s syndrome. Caring for 50 hours a week as well as working part time means she has put her own life on hold. Erika s local Crossroads Care scheme provides invaluable help through respite care, a listening ear and advice on services to help.

3 How we help carers Together with our local Network Partners, Carers Trust works across the UK to give carers access to desperately-needed breaks, information and advice, and education, training and employment opportunities. As well as a strong history of successful collaboration between The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care we regularly work in partnership with other organisations for the benefit of carers. Our project with the Royal College of General Practitioners is helping GPs to identify carers before they reach crisis point. 24-hour support Carers can find local support by calling Carers Trust on We also provide 24-hour access to information, advice and peer support at Carers.org. Our website YCNet offers dedicated support for carers under the age of 18. We re also fighting to ensure the UK Government prioritises carers needs. Today, thanks to key work by us and others, the Government has a dedicated Carers Strategy. We are leading innovation in carers services. Carers Trust now operates 112 young carers services across the UK and our unique network of over 200 centres and schemes supports more than 443,000 carers of all ages. We are delighted that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal continues to be President of Carers Trust, a role she held at The Princess Royal Trust for Carers since it formed in 1991.

4 How you can help carers With your support, Carers Trust can make the challenge of being a carer a little easier. We help stop people from breaking down under the strain. And we help them find answers and ways to cope with the challenges of their situation. Here are just some of the ways your money could help carers to cope: l 50 would enable a fully trained care worker to go into a carer s home and take over their caring responsibilities for half a day. Our research shows that a break from caring can make the difference between being able to carry on, and having to give up. l A 200 Carers Trust grant means a carer could benefit from equipment which would make a real difference to their quality of life, such as a washing machine. l 500 could provide a fun day out for young carers so that they can enjoy being a child again. Sarah is 78 and cares for her brother Steven, 83, who has prostate cancer, and her 84-year-old sister Lisa who has schizophrenia. Sarah carries out all the household chores, deals with her brother s incontinence and provides a great deal of emotional support. When Sarah s oven broke down the family lived on soups and one-pot meals for several months. Fortunately, her local carers centre was able to help Sarah apply for a Carers Trust grant of 300 to buy a new cooker. She now finds it easier to care for herself and her family.

5 You can help carers by making a donation, however large or small. Visit call , fundraising@carers.org or fill in this form. Name Address Post Code Telephone Please send me details about making a regular gift to Carers Trust Please send me information about leaving a legacy to Carers Trust I enclose a cheque payable to Carers Trust for the amount of To make a secure credit card donation please call Gift Aid It and make your gift more valuable Make your gift worth 25% more, at no extra cost to you! Please claim back the tax I have paid against all charitable gifts made in the last four years and any future gifts I may make including those to Carers Trust, or I am not a UK taxpayer Signature Date Please inform Carers Trust if your address or tax status changes. You must pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax in each year at least equal to the tax Carers Trust reclaims on your donations. Carers Trust would like to use the contact details you have given, including your address, to keep you up to date on our work and show you how your support is helping us. If you would like to hear from us please tick this box. If you would like us to share your details with other like minded organisations please tick this box.

6 There are 1.25 million carers caring for over 50 hours a week, a full-time workforce greater than that of the National Health Service. Carers Trust Loman Street, London SE1 0EH Tel: Fax: info@carers.org Website: Stay in touch with Carers Tweets at twitter.com/carerstweets Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/carerstrust Carers Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales ( ) and in Scotland (SC042870). Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No Registered office: Loman Street, London SE1 0EH. In Scotland, Carers Trust is still known as The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Scotland. Carers Trust 2012 Due to the sensitive nature of our work we have changed the name of the carers and those they care for, in this booklet. Photos used are representative of caring situations.