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Background
Caring for Carers Association has been delivering an effective service to BME older people and carers for over 15 years and has a track record of meeting the needs of people who are marginalised. The Association is also effective in involving service users both in the design and delivery of services. We target carers from black and minority ethnic communities, particularly elderly and disabled carers, who are often the most socially excluded groups within the community and sometimes excluded from mainstream services.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of Caring for Carers Association is to relief hardship and distress experienced by Black and minority elderly and disabled carers by offering practical help and emotional support to them in a culturally sensitive manner.
Key Objectives
- To deliver practical and emotional support to elderly black and minority carers as a way of preventing further mental and physical deterioration.
- To meet the needs of the black and minority ethnic carers by providing a range of culturally sensitive services including group work and social activities.
- To raise awareness of the special needs of black and minority ethnic carers and to collaborate with other organisations in meeting their needs
- To deliver a training and development programme for volunteers and students to enable them gain vital work experience
- To advocate on behalf of the clients and to facilitate their access to mainstream health, social care and leisure services
Evidence of Need
The needs of carers in the borough are documented by the 2001 Census and show that there are 11,500 individuals who have identified themselves as carers. Of these 425 are under the age of 18, 9435 are 18-64 years and 2126 are over the age of 65. Our own research indicates that 50% of these are from Black Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
Some of the BME communities, such as the African Caribbean community are bound by cultural demands to care for family members. They are not being supported sufficiently or are not aware of the support that is available to them. Many of these people suffer from social isolation and depression and support targeted at meeting their holistic needs prevents further physical and mental deterioration. Through feedback we know that we are reducing the effects of social isolation and increasing self-worth and confidence of carers which impacts on other areas of community life.
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