Caring Together Charity
A charity that for over 40 years has been supporting unpaid, family carers across Cambridgeshire - those looking after someone at home with a disability or long-term health condition.
The carers we support are aged from 4 years old upwards. The oldest is over 100 years old. They may be looking after mum, dad, sister, brother, partner, wife or husband. The person they look after could have dementia, Parkinson' s disease, cancer, MS, depression, autism or be living with disability caused by stroke or brain injury. Without the carer, the person they look after simply could not cope with day to day life. But caring is tough. We provide support to prevent carers feeling alone, or reaching crisis point.
Caring Together Charity works across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk to support unpaid carers. Unpaid carers are people of all ages who look after a family member (or friend) with a disability or long-term illness. We provide practical support in the community including a helpline, support groups (hubs), an emergency planning service, counselling, carer breaks and specialist support for children who are carers.
Caring can be utterly exhausting and overwhelming. Imagine looking after your partner who has developed dementia. Their personality has changed, they can't be left alone, and without you feeding them they would simply stop eating. The dreams you had for your retirement together are sadly now in the bin. You can't get out for a haircut, let alone a holiday in the sun. Family and friends have fallen away, and now you have your own health problems to contend with too. Your partner won't tolerate anyone else looking after them and their distress is so great that you try to do it all, day in and day out. Laundry, feeding, cooking, taking them to the loo, washing them, putting them to bed, brushing their hair, soothing them when they become distressed... You haven't stopped loving them, but now you are at breaking point.
This is why Caring Together Charity is needed. No carer across Cambridgeshire should feel isolated and overwhelmed. No one should feel they are on their own.
