Ten facts about caring

[Lelee]

Ten facts about caring


1.    One in eight (1 in adults are carers... around six million people

2.    Carers save the economy £57 billion per year, an average of £10,000 per carer

3.    Over 3 million people juggle care with work

4.    The main carer's benefit is £46.95 for a minimum of 35 hours, equivalent to £1.34 per hour

5.    1.25 million people provide over 50 hours of care per week

6.    People providing high levels of care are twice as likely to be permanently sick or disabled

7.    Over 1 million people care for more than one person

8.    58% of carers are women and 42% are men

9.    By 2037 the number of carers could have increased to 9 million

10.  Every year over 2 million people become carers
                                                                                  (www.carersuk.org)

[Jim]

I would wager that most carers within substance misuse are not included in these stats

[Lelee]

Yes I agree. I contacted Carers UK a couple of years ago asking them if they ever had calls from carers dealing with problematic substance use. They were suprised as it hadn't crossed their minds and their organisation, like most mainstream carers organisations, didn't receive calls about this.

Just goes to show how marginalised the substance use/misuse arena is for all involved and also how many don't perceive themselves as carers. Even if they did sometimes misplaced shame would inhibit carers from contacting mainstream organisations because of fear of judgement and associated stigma. 

I was pleased to see though that Carers UK definition of a carer now includes addiction so that's a start.

I think the more it's brought out into the open the better.

Linda

[February]

 I recently worked with young adolescent carers of parents with substance dependency. Most of them had been excluded from school and were  vulnerable and at risk of following in their parents footsteps . I was appalled at the lack of support being given to these youngsters. They need to be mentioned in the statistics.
February

[Lelee]

They certainly do February and I think 'young carers' groups and associations need to be made more aware too.

From what I gather from our strategic director drug using parents and the impact it has on young people is going to play quite a big part in the new drug strategy.

Where abouts are you February? I'm really interested in the work you have been doing with adolescents. 

Linda

[Jim]

Is there not a need to differentiate different types of caring.   The caring descibed in the initial post is where someone is 'tending to' someone, i.e spending significant amounts of their day looking after (physically, psychologically or socially) a family member.  This does happen a lot in the field of substance misuse.  Then there are people who care about their family member but the family member does not live with them so they give help as and when and worry a lot.  Similar scenarios exist in other areas such as mental health and disabilty where the person is mainly cared for or lives elsewhere. 

I am saying this because I haven't heard this difference articulated in this field, but it is important I think if things such as rights to carers benefits are going to be accrued.  This is not meant to be a vlaue based distinction but trying to fit the definition of carer (as in doing a caring job that would otherwise cost the taxpayer lots of money) in this field into the one genrally used.  I think the distinction i other fields is usually carer or family member.

[Lelee]

“A carer is someone, who, without payment, provides help and support to a partner, child, relative, friend or neighbour, who could not manage without their help. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction or disability.” - www.carers.org

Hi Jim

That's the definition of a carer according to a national carers organisation and it is rather broad but it does fit both types of scenarios you are talking about unless I've missed your point?

Regarding carers benefits it does depend on the amount of time you spend caring for that person, has to be 35 hours a week or more and whether they're on DLA (disablity living allowance)  but it's not dependent on whether you live with that person or elsewhere. It's also means tested and the allowance is a pittance of just over £50. Imagine if someone had to give up a well paid job to care and then had to live on that. 

But I'm not sure if that's what you mean Jim. Sorry if I've gone off on a tangent.

I think there is a need to differentiate between 'young carers' and adult carers as 'young carers' have a completely different arena re legislation, duties of care, policies, services, resources, etc. 


Linda

[Jim]

thats roughly what I meant really, the 35 hours a week bit.  I was trying to say that by defining things in the way I was suggesting many people might be able to claim under that basis.  I suspect many people have jobs compromised in this respect.   

Its just I doubt many people receive carers benefits for caring for someone with a substance misuse problem when it meets this definition.   

[Lelee]

I wouldn't imagine they do.........and what's more if you are managing to combine work with caring for 35 hours a week or more (easy to do, Mon-Fri care for 4 hours, that's 20 hours then 15 hours over the weekend) and if you earn over £95 a week after tax this disqualifies you from getting carers allowance.

Then that person has to be on disability living allowance as well for carers to get carers allowance so that would suggest there would have to be other health problems alongside the substance use, which there often are.

Hardly fair when you consider what 35 hours worth of care would cost in services, especially if without the carer providing the care that person might need residential services or supported housing .....say at £500 a week. Then of course there's always prison, at a cost of roughly? over £4,000 a month..... 

Linda