January 2018 sees the launch of a new charity dedicated to improving the lives of Guernsey’s 4,000 carers.
Carers Guernsey is dedicated to supporting Islanders of all ages who provide informal care for family members and friends with life-limiting health conditions. It will do this by:
- providing emotional and practical support;
- giving carers a voice in matters that affect them;
- providing a central service for information and advice; and
- helping to identify and develop various carers services.
The creation of Carers Guernsey was announced in June, when the Guernsey Community Foundation pledged £80,000 to cover the charity’s start-up costs. Since then, the Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands and a private trust have committed to provide additional funding that will enable the project to proceed with confidence for the immediate future.
The charity is now looking to recruit a General Manager and an Outreach Worker, with a view to rolling out services in the Spring.
The Chair of Carers Guernsey, Peter Harwood, ex-Deputy and former Chair of the States Supported Living and Ageing Well Strategy, said: “After months of hard work behind the scenes, we’re about to make Carers Guernsey a reality. Thanks to the generous support of our various funders we can now recruit staff, establish premises, begin building up a network of volunteers, and investigate how we might best engage the practical support of the States of Guernsey.”
Alastair Bisson, a director of the Guernsey Community Foundation, said: “Having identified concerns of carers in the island, the Community Foundation undertook several consultations and funded the research that gave rise to the creation of Carers Guernsey – and continues to take an active interest in its success and the development of a strategy by the States of Guernsey. We’re hopeful that the States, as part of any future carers strategy, will work in unison with Carers Guernsey, and will make a similar financial and resource commitment to avoid the fate of similar strategies.”
Mr Harwood continued: “We’ll be advertising for the General Manager and Outreach Worker posts in early January, but anybody who is interested in working with Carers Guernsey – in either a paid or voluntary capacity – is welcome to get in touch now to find out more about our plans.”
Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Jim Roberts on 748056 or jim@foundation.gg
