Today is the official start of Carers Week. The week, 8-14th June, is all about raising awareness and building carer friendly communities all over the UK. There are some great charities involved in the week, including but not restricted to: Carers UK, Age UK, Carers Trust, We are Macmillan, Independent Age and MS Society. Almost 2000 organisations, groups and individuals have signed up to take part in various events and activities occurring throughout the UK to recognise, support and celebrate carers.
Every week 35,000 people take up a new caring role across the UK. There are approximately 6.5 million people who care for someone else unpaid. They may be caring for a friend or family member who is ill, frail or disabled, yet they insist they are ‘just doing what they need to do’.
People are rarely prepared for the huge impact that caring responsibilities has on their lives and on their loved ones. Nearly half of all carers also work alongside their caring duties, putting a huge strain on them personally. To ease the strain and stresses for working carers, support networks are vital. An understanding employer with a ‘Carer Friendly’ workplace and flexible working conditions would greatly help during this stressful period: Carers Week is here to raise awareness for these issues and more.
Gorvins are proud to play our part in the week too, helping to build much needed carer friendly communities. Our pledge is to offer advice and support clinics throughout the week for all carers and vulnerable families on Wills, Trust, Probate and planning for their lives. We have an information stand at Stockport Town Hall on Tuesday 9th June, where between 10am and 4pm we will be offering free advice to carers and families alike.
Look out for special blog posts coming up this week regarding Carers Week. We will be posting stories on Twitter also using the hashtags #CarersWeek and #ActOnIt. If you would like to get involved or find out further information please visit www.carersweek.org.
If you can’t make it to Stockport Town Hall, but would like to talk to us regarding Wills, Planning for your Future, or any other legal assistance call us on 0161 930 5117.