Carer’s Week 14 June – 20 June 2010

11
Jun

Carer’s Week 14 June – 20 June 2010

The tenth annual Carers Week will take place from Monday 14 June with various events helping to raise awareness and express appreciation for carers in the community. Carers Week will highlight why supporting carers is so crucial and identify what must change in order to make sure that they are not taken for granted.

Seven national charities will organise for over 100,000 carers to take part in thousands of activities all over the UK to celebrate their wonderful work. We have arranged two free outings for Wandsworth Carers to the Science Museum and the National History Museum providing transport, entrance fees, lunch and volunteer support. We are also hosting a sponsored walk along the river Thames, passing through some amazing areas of London.

This week will also see Wandsworth Carers Centre celebrate its 15^th Birthday. We will be marking the occasion with a special event on Thursday 10 June which will give Carers a chance to have a break, have fun and get advice on how to enrich their own lives. The theme ‘A life of my own’ will encourage carers to talk about parts of life that many people take for granted e.g. their own health and wellbeing, family occasions, going on holiday, a meal out or even an evening with no worries or responsibilities. The ‘Rethink’ support group for carers of adults who experience mental illness, hosted at the Wandsworth Carers Centre, will be visited by guest speaker Jeremy Walsh, Associate Director at South West London and St Georges Mental Health Trust. The group is open to all family members, friends and neighbours who support someone with a mental illness.

Stephen Warren, Associate Director of Commissioning for NHS Wandsworth, said:

“We are delighted to be able to give something back to the carers of Wandsworth who invest so much into this community. We are always trying to recognise their work and this week promises to be a great opportunity to engage with Carers on issues that are important to them. It looks set to be a very successful and rewarding week”.