THE manager of a charity dedicated to supporting unpaid carers in Helensburgh and Lomond says she hopes the coronavirus crisis will be a “turning point” in recognising their contribution.
Last month the Scottish Government announced it will pay out an additional £19.2 million to support around 83,000 unpaid carers in the country, meaning eligible people will get an extra £230.10 through the one-off supplement in June.
According to cabinet secretary for social security and older people, Shirley-Anne Somerville, it will act as “an acknowledgement to carers that we know that they are doing even more right now”.
The payment boost was welcomed by organisations who had earlier signed an open letter to ministers calling for more backing to “alleviate the intolerable pressure” carers are facing currently.
Helensburgh and Lomond Carers SCIO supports both young and adult carers who are looking after a family member, partner, relative, friend or neighbour because of that person’s illness, disability, frailty or addiction.
Carers are not paid for the help and support they provide, though they may be entitled to Carers Allowance.
READ MORE: New deal supplies free PPE to Helensburgh's unpaid carers
Eileen McCrory, manager of the Helensburgh and Lomond Carers Centre (HLCC) in Lomond Street, told the Advertiser: “We know that during this pandemic, many young and adult carers may be struggling with having to remain at home while caring for someone and that many of the services that support the person they are caring for may have been reduced or stopped.
“Some are feeling very isolated and many are struggling physically, emotionally and financially.
“I would like to see more done to help [unpaid carers] out.
“This should be like a turning point, now where there’s more recognition of what unpaid carers are doing and the types of services that they need to support them in their daily life.”
READ MORE: Kind Helensburgh neighbours organise 'Clap for Carers' food bank collections
More than 600 adult unpaid carers are registered with HLCC, along with 237 young carers aged between 5 and 24, though it’s thought there may be around 3,500 unpaid carers in total in the area.
During Carers Week, which runs from June 8-14 and has a theme this year of ‘making carers visible’, Eileen is keen to reach out to those who may not even realise that they can get help.
“We’re only scratching the surface,” she said.
“There are a lot of unpaid carers out there that we don’t know about and they don’t really recognise themselves as being a carer. They think ‘it’s my mum or dad’ and it’s just something they feel they have to do.
“A lot of them don’t even know that they’re entitled to benefits. It’s just about letting them know that we’re here and giving them someone to talk to.”
Lockdown has proved difficult for many people who were already finding it hard to cope with looking after loved ones at home, and it has also meant the HLCC has been forced to find new ways to support clients.
READ MORE: How Helensburgh and Lomond's remote villages are rising to the lockdown challenge
In celebration of Carers Week, staff are holding a virtual quiz and a virtual afternoon tea, while they were boosted with a recent award of £1,166 from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.
“It’s not big bucks but it can be huge,” Eileen added. “We can do a lot of good with that.
“Awards like this really help us to keep ticking over.
“We’ve only got a finite amount of resources to expend, we’re a small team and we can only do what we can do but I’m hoping that more funding will come through the Scottish Government and through the health and social care partnership to help us support more carers and find the ones that we don’t know.
“Some carers who are registered with us are looking after their loved ones at home whilst holding down a full-time job, some are struggling financially because they’ve been furloughed or their wages have been cut, and some parent carers who have four children at home are having to home school them using one household laptop. You can imagine how difficult that is.”
If you are caring for someone at home and are in need of advice or information, call the carers centre on 01436 673444/670555, email hello@hlcc.org.uk or visit hlcc.org.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here