Hello everyone
To help raise awareness of Carers Week 2021, please contact your local MP and ask them to publicly recognise unpaid carers and tell them about our new breaks campaign we have launched today!
Millions of carers have gone to extraordinary lengths over the past year to look after and support those they care for, with many caring around the clock without any meaningful breaks. This increased support has often come at great personal cost and left carers exhausted, burnt-out, and increasingly worried about the future. Our research in October 2020 shows that two thirds of carers have not had any breaks at all since the start of the pandemic.
That’s why this Carers Week we will shine a spotlight on the lack of breaks that carers have been able to take in the past year, and the worrying impact this is having on their health and wellbeing, as well as their ability to work and live a meaningful life beyond caring. To address this situation, we are calling on the Government to urgently increase funding for carers’ breaks by an additional £1.2 billion, so all carers providing significant hours of care can take a break.
To raise awareness of our campaign, please take a couple of minutes to write to your local MP ahead of Carers Week. When doing so, please tell them about your own experience of caring and how long it has been since you had a meaningful break. We have provided a template letter and ask that you add your own personal experience to this, before sending it, if you are currently caring!
CLICK BELOW TO WRITE TO YOUR LOCAL MP!
Please forward any response you receive from your MP to policy@carersuk.org, so that we can follow up with them, if you are happy to do so.
Thank you for your support!
Michael
