CARERS Week, a national event that that takes place every year to raise awareness of the work of unpaid carers, took place last week. Carer support in Wiltshire spent the time sharing stories from carers and also held some special ‘virtual cuppas’ – online meet-ups for carers to enjoy meeting and chatting with others who also care for someone else.

While Carers Week is usually marked with events held in the community – this year people engaged with a virtual Carers Week and learnt about the day-to-day lives of the many people who care for someone else; their work generally taking place behind closed doors and not widely spoken about.

The theme this year was ‘Making Caring Visible’ and six carers shared their experiences on the Carer Support Wiltshire website and social channels in order to raise awareness. Each is in a very different situation, showing that people from all walks of life can find themselves caring for a loved one.

Shona Tomlinson, Chippenham is a parent carer to her daughter Anabel, who has a rare chromosome disorder. She said:

“Being Anabel’s parent is amazing, she is one awesome 9 year old. She’s caring, bubbly, creative and very funny. Being her carer is exhausting and at times really hard. Anabel rarely sleeps before 2am, she now often needs to use a wheelchair, takes regular medication and needs constant supervision. We do daily physio sessions, spend time learning new coping skills and adapt our lives to make Anabel’s easier in any way that we can.

“It’s so easy to get lost in the process of caring for your child and put all your energy into becoming their support and strength, you forget your own need for support.”

Virtual cuppas took place throughout the week and gave carers the chance to take some time out from caring and chat to others.

Vince Danaher, Carer Support Wiltshire Volunteer Manager said: “The cuppas were a great way to get carers together at this time for a much-needed break and a bit of laughter.

“There are many ways we need to raise visibility for carers – among friends, the local population, local services and Government. There’s also ‘self-visibility’ – many carers see themselves as wives, husbands, partners, parents, siblings and so on first and foremost who are doing what anyone would do in their situation. But not accessing support and acknowledging their status makes them less visible. Visibility is crucial – the more visible the work of unpaid carers is, the more other people will recognise themselves as carers as well.”