About Us

Carers in Hertfordshire was formed in 1995 by carers as a countywide charity and became a charitable company limited by guarantee in 2000.

We are associate members of Carers UK and a member of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations.

A Board of Trustees governs Carers in Hertfordshire. Our Articles of Association require that 50% of Trustees must be carers.

Aims

• To ensure all carers receive information, advice and support
• To enable carers to participate in service planning and decision making
• To be a platform for the voice of carers

Carers in Hertfordshire fulfils these aims through a mix of strategic work, development activity and direct service provision to carers.

Carers in Hertfordshire’s work is delivered by 124 staff and around 200 active volunteers within communities in Hertfordshire and from our base in the county town of Hertford and our Care Service office in Borehamwood.

Carers in Hertfordshire staff and volunteers work with and for carers, 1-1 and in groups.

We provide information, problem solving and support. We also arrange a variety of ways for carers to have a voice and influence service improvements.

We work closely and collaboratively with professional staff in a wide range of voluntary and statutory organisations to link our services and assist them to develop a carer friendly focus.

We manage specialist projects targeted to particular caring circumstances.

Carers in Hertfordshire is core funded by Hertfordshire County Council and the NHS in Hertfordshire (Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Board) and receives additional support from donations and other charitable trust funds.

Mission statement – Vision for the future

Carers in Hertfordshire is concerned first and foremost to support the carer, whatever the caring circumstances or the condition of the person receiving care.

We aim to ensure that all carers in Hertfordshire are recognised and valued; are informed and supported in their caring role; have an opportunity for a life outside caring; can exercise a collective voice, and can be involved in consultation and planning to ensure high quality support services for themselves and the people they care for.

Our Values and Philosophy

To achieve the aspirations of our Mission Statement, Carers in Hertfordshire will be:

Passionate
• We are committed to making sure carers are valued, supported and have their voices heard
• We are tenacious about making sure carers are on everyone’s agenda

Kind
• We give carers time to talk and are there to listen
• We support staff to embrace change

Carer led
• Services should be designed and delivered with carers
• The voices of carers are central to the way we plan our future

Inclusive
• We involve carers in everything we do
• We proactively look for barriers that prevent carers using our services and reduce them

Open
• We are open about mistakes, admit to them and learn from them
• We give one another constructive feedback and support one another to learn and develop

Resilient
• We help carers to see a positive future and support them to adapt as needed
• We encourage everyone in the organisation to take care of their own wellbeing, take time for a break and support one another to do this
• We use systems and processes that are able to adapt to changing needs or the way we do things is able to adapt to changing needs

Annual Reports

You can find out how we are working towards our mission and aims – making carers count – and the effect our services have had on the quality of carers and bereaved carers’ lives in our Annual Impact Report. The latest report covering the period April 2022 to the end of March 2023 is here – Annual Impact Report 2022 to 2023