Christmas is often a time for celebration, but for many unpaid carers it can be one of the loneliest and saddest times of the year.
There is no festive break for carers who are required to continue caring around the clock without a real rest, looking after their loved ones with often debilitating conditions such as dementia and profound disability. Most carers don’t have the time or inclination to put together a festive meal and many have no one to exchange gifts with.
‘Caring is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that doesn’t stop at Christmas,' said one carer Craig, 74, who is supported by Crossroads.
He cares for his 46-year-old son, who suffered a catastrophic cardiac arrest which led to brain injury and cognitive and mobility problems. Following the death of his wife, Craig cares for his son alone and full-time and knows all too well how lonely Christmas can be for many unpaid older carers.
‘Often people don’t understand what you’re going through, so being out and about can leave you feeling low and even lonelier. The hamper, which Crossroads Care staff hand-delivered to us last year really lifted the spirits of my son and I, and made Christmas Day special.’
Caring takes an enormous toll on the physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing of carers and the people they care for, with 70 per cent reporting an extreme lack of social contact and almost half of all unpaid carers struggling to make ends meet.
Indeed, so relentless is unpaid caring that carers consistently report that they feel on the edge of breakdown.
That’s why this Christmas, Crossroads Care is bringing back its Show an Act of Kindness Appeal for the fourth year running — with an added difference, a special festive Christmas lunch!
For just £40, our staff and volunteers will hand-deliver a personalised Christmas hamper full of delicious food staples to unpaid carers. We aim to deliver over 50 hampers and any donations over and above that will go towards our Carers’ Christmas Lunch event which will take place in mid-December. We held this hugely popular event for the first time last year, bringing together carers and their cared-for at The Anglers, Teddington.
One carer told us: ‘Christmas Day came early when we attended the Crossroads Christmas Lunch. I don’t have the time to cook a festive meal on the day and it’s usually very lonely – but this was such fun, so special and much appreciated. Thank you, Crossroads!’
What unpaid carers say about Crossroads Care:
The hardest thing about caring for someone with dementia is that you're not just dealing with the terrible loss you feel, but you have to manage the grief of the other person. There are some days when the pain is so extreme that it feels physical, but no matter what's happening with myself or my husband, Crossroads are always there and I am so grateful.
If I didn’t have help from Crossroads, I would be totally housebound because my wife, who has Alzheimer’s, needs to be looked after 24/7 and often refuses to leave the house. Whenever Crossroads staff arrive at our home, the stress leaves my shoulders. You feel like you can share the responsibility with someone else. The care support workers are so capable, practical and kind.
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