From 6-12 June, North Yorkshire County Council will be backing Carers Week, the national campaign highlighting the contribution carers make and recognising the challenges they face.
County Councillor Clare Wood, Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration, said: “Three in five of us will be carers at some point in our lifetime and this week is a marvellous opportunity to highlight the vital work the UK’s 6.5 million carers do all year round. Although caring for a loved one can be immensely rewarding it does have the potential to be an extremely challenging and isolating experience without the right support. If people are not already in contact with the council we would strongly encourage them to get in touch with us or their local carers’ resource centre so we can establish what help is available.”
During Carers Week the County Council will be asking people what one change would make their community more carer friendly as part of their work to develop a new Carers Strategy, to be launched in 2017.
Over the coming year the Council will work with individuals, groups and organisations to find out what really matters to carers. There are many different ways people can take part in shaping the strategy, from attending events and joining discussions to completing questionnaires.
County Councillor Janet Sanderson, Executive Member for Children and Young People’s Services, said: “We help around 400 young carers in North Yorkshire through counselling, group meetings, social events and regular contact with a support worker. We hope young carers will contribute to developing the new strategy to ensure their voices are heard and their experiences considered.”
Carers can register their details to participate online at www.northyorks.gov.uk/carersstrategy. Alternatively, people can send an email to HASconsultation@northyorks.gov.uk, call 01609 534527 or speak to staff at their local carers’ resource centre. Details are available at www.northyorks.gov.uk/carers. Information about events at local carers’ resource centres and pop-up information points planned throughout Carers Week can be found at www.northyorks.gov.uk/carersweek.