Story
BaNES Carers Centre is a small charity that focuses on helping voluntary carers; people who help provide care for someone else. Carers time is often solely spent on the person for whom they care and that can cause feelings of isolation and loneliness, exhaustion and reduced well-being. Our vision is community where carers of today and tomorrow are fully recognised, valued and supported and have what they need to stay well, in control and feel connected.
Our charity provides a free support line to enable people to seek advice and help comfortably. We host Carer Cafés and plan break activities where carers are welcome to come and have a cup of tea, have a casual chat and just gain some respite from their caring role. We provide courses to help people understand and cope with their caring role, provide sessions to teach technology to help make certain day-to-day tasks easier, and we work in partnership with many organisations so that we can signpost our carers to any places that would be better equipped to help them with specific problems, such as mental health or medical services.
Being the carer and the cared-for can be quite claustrophobic in some ways a lot of the time its just the two of you together and its difficult to get out, so going to the Centre gives me a break. I think it helps [husband ('cared-for')] as well as myself as I come back happier and refreshed and not bored and stressed which I could be! - F. C. [Carer]
The money we raise through the Bath Half Marathon will go a long way in continuing to develop and provide the support services carers need to be able to do what they do. No matter how big or small the donation, we are always incredibly grateful.
However, we entirely appreciate that not everybody is in a position to donate, but that doesnt mean you cant help us! You could share this page around and encourage others to donate, and even simply help us spread awareness of who carers are and what they do, just by being an advocate in your own community. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to read this!