To mark Young Carers Action Day (Wednesday 12th March 2025) we will continue to support young carers and their families in Hertfordshire. Our focus is on providing information and assistance to help ease their caring responsibilities and support their wellbeing.

This year’s theme, “Give me a Break,” emphasises the importance of young carers taking time to rest, recharge, and focus on themselves. A break can include doing activities like hobbies, spending time talking to or meeting up with friends, listening to music or watching videos.

We organise activities during school holidays to offer young carers a chance to have fun and connect with others. Events for the Easter and summer breaks are in the works, although we usually offer bowls and skiing courses in the summer as well as sessions with sports and crafts.

For adult carers aged 18 and over, we have upcoming workshops such as online meditation sessions, a spring card-making activity in Hertford, and a first aid workshop in St Albans. Learn more on our events page.

In February 2025, 115 young carers attended our Young Carers’ Conference, with workshops in drama, art, upcycling, and music. The theme, Empathy not Sympathy, was chosen by our Young Carers’ Council. Health, education and social care professionals also attended, hearing about the importance of listening to young carers’ stories and offering tailored support.

Some young carers filmed a video on why it’s important to take breaks from their caring role and what they do when they have time to themselves.

Gemma Roake, our Young Carers Service Manager, said: “Young Carers Action Day provides an opportunity to highlight the challenges young carers face and the support they need. It is also a chance for organisations such as ours to remind young carers that we are there to support them and their families and give them a voice all year round.”

Currently, over 3,200 young carers are registered with us, but many more in Hertfordshire may not be known to services. We encourage anyone who may be a young carer to reach out for support and information.

You can help make a difference by volunteering or fundraising for our cause.

Carers Trust, which co-ordinates Young Carers Action Day, will also advocate for government action to improve opportunities for young and young adult carers. You can learn more about the day and Carers Trust’s work at www.carers.org

To learn more, visit our young carers pages or call us at 01992 58 69 69.

If you provide unpaid care to someone close to you who is elderly, disabled, or has a physical or mental illness and you’re in the South Oxhey area, you may be interested in a new support group that starts in January 2025. You can find out more about it at a festive event at Oxhey Library on Thursday 12th December 2024.

The group will offer a welcoming space for family and friend carers to connect, share experiences, and receive support. The first meeting will be at Oxhey Library, South Oxhey, on Thursday 9th January 2025, 1pm – 2.30pm. Subsequent meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of each month at the same time.

To celebrate the launch, a festive event will be held at Oxhey Library on 12th December, 1pm – 2.30pm. Family and friend carers are invited to attend to learn more about the group, enjoy some festive cheer, and meet other carers in the community.

This initiative is a partnership between us (Carers in Hertfordshire) and Three Rivers District Council. Initially, the group will run for three months.

Nicki Bird, our Volunteer Manager, who oversees our carers’ groups, said: “We are excited to launch the South Oxhey group and provide a regular opportunity for carers to come together, share their experiences, and access valuable resources and support. We look forward to welcoming people with caring responsibilities to our festive event and to meetings from January. If you haven’t already, please contact us to book your place at any session.”

Carers interested in attending the launch event or any of the monthly meetings are asked to book their place either online via the listing in our Events section or by contacting us. Email contact@carersinherts.org.uk or call 01992 58 69 69.

Heavy rain didn’t dampen the spirits or commitment of two carers who completed a fundraising walk for Carers in Hertfordshire to mark Carers Week 2024.

The five-hour walk, organised by Norman Phillips, who is a carer for his wife Ros, took place around the lake at Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage, on Saturday 15th June 2024. It was the 10th fundraising walk Norman has organised.

Taking part with Norman was Elaine Sapstead, who cares for her husband Stephen and did the walk last year, and Norman’s dog Bugle. They were joined for some laps by charity staff, carers, staff from Barclays bank in Stevenage, representatives from Hertfordshire health services and Tom Hennessey, Hertfordshire County Council’s Director of Health Integration.

Norman said: “I try and do what I can to help raise awareness about caring and the issues carers like me face and to support charities like Carers in Hertfordshire, which provide information and services to people looking after a relative, partner or friend who is ill, disabled or elderly. I was happy to arrange the walk, although it was a challenging day with the changing weather – rain, high winds and sunshine. However, carers are resilient and carry on caring during difficult times, so we braved the weather to complete the event.

I was grateful to everyone who attended to show their support, it was a real morale booster.”

Hazel Howell, our Fundraising Manager, said: “Thank you to Norman, Elaine and everyone who took part, donated or popped by to show support, and to Costello’s Café, for donating drinks to keep us warm. What an incredible 10th carer’s walk.”

So far around £800 has been raised, although you may still be able to make a donation at www.justgiving.com/page/normanphillips10thwalktosupportthesupporters

If you’re inspired to take part in a fundraising walk, we have places in two Challenge Central Pub Loop Walks that are about 20km (12 miles). One walk takes in the villages circling Hitchin on Saturday 3rd August 2024, 8am – 2pm, starting at The Plume of Feathers in Ickleford. The other walk is on Saturday 26th October, 8.30am – 1.30pm, from The Orange Tree in Baldock. The entry fee is £30. If you want to take part in the walk, email fundraising@carersinherts.org.uk or call 01992 58 69 69.

This Carers Week and throughout the year we work to ensure unpaid family and friend carers are identified, informed, supported and heard. We help with ‘Putting Carers on the Map’ – the theme of this year’s Carers Week (10th – 16th June 2024). We do this by highlighting carers’ invaluable contributions with people who provide or commission services as well as politicians and ensuring carers’ views and experiences are heard by them.

During Carers Week we are offering a mix of events for unpaid carers in Hertfordshire to join in with. Some are online such as a quiz night, evening question and answer session with representatives of health and social care services in Hertfordshire and a Make and Take Spa activity. There are various activities around the county – some to give you information to support you in your caring role or to find out more about how our charity and others to offer a break from caring and socialise with other carers.

People who provide unpaid care or support to someone who is ill, disabled, elderly or for another reason, and the wider community, are being encouraged by Carers UK to be involved in its campaign ahead of the General Election on Thursday 4th July 2024. They are calling on all political parties to include specific policies in their manifestos that would lead for increased support and recognition for unpaid carers. They also want carers and others to sign an open letter that will be delivered to the Prime Minister following the election. You can find out about the campaign and access the letter at www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/general-election-2024/

To get in touch with us you can email us at contact@carersinherts.org.uk or call 01992 58 69 69.

Please also let us know if you are planning any events for Carers Week that we can tell unpaid carers about – email comms@carersinherts.org.uk with details.

You can find out more about Carers Week at www.carersweek.org and get materials to use for any event you are planning at www.carersweek.org/resources-and-downloads/

It is Volunteers’ Week 3rd – 9th June 2024 – the 40th anniversary of Volunteers’ Week – and we want to thank our lovely volunteers for sharing their time and skills to help us provide information and support to unpaid family and friend carers. We are always in need of people to volunteer with us, so if you have some time to spare, whether regularly or occasionally, please get in touch with our Volunteer Service.

Julie Hayes, our Hubs and Volunteer Co-ordinator, said: “Our volunteers generously dedicate their time and skills to help us ensure unpaid family and friend carers in Hertfordshire are identified, informed, supported and heard. Thank you so much for all you do. Many of our volunteers (47%) help us around their own caring roles.”

Julie continued that carers often tell us how much they’ve appreciated the support they’ve received and the difference it has made, with compliments such as “I greatly benefited from having a mentor and our one-hour regular talks. Thank you for being a listening ear and for guiding me to set smart goals.”

For Volunteers’ Week we are celebrating and thanking our volunteers with a couple of online events they can join in with a Wellbeing Workshop and a Social. The Wellbeing Workshop is on Tuesday 4th June 2024, 10.30am – 12.30pm and volunteers can pick up tips about stress management and join in a short meditation.

Then on Friday 7th June 2024, 10.30am – 12.30pm, there is a chance to catch up with each other, take part in a fun quiz and hear feedback from carers about the support they’ve received from our volunteers.

If you don’t already volunteer with us, but are interested in supporting us, your help is needed. Some of the roles can be done at home, such as providing telephone bereavement support and making Keep in Touch calls, others like admin support in our Hertford office, and others such as mentoring in person near to where you live or over the phone.

We are also looking for Hub Leaders or joint leaders for our carers’ groups in Berkhamsted, Bishop’s Stortford and Chorleywood and Rickmansworth.

Some of our volunteers have kindly shared their experience of volunteering with us, to give you an idea of what being a Carers in Hertfordshire volunteer is like.

Office-based volunteer Harvey said: “I’ve been providing admin support since January. I got involved through a work taster scheme as I wanted to develop my skills whilst supporting a worthwhile cause. I volunteer about three hours a week and find the role enjoyable and stimulating. The staff and other volunteers are friendly and have made me feel welcome.”

Fran, who has been a Mentor since 2016 and supported 11 carers, said: “I find the role rewarding, giving my time to listen to and guide the carer I’m mentoring.”

For more information about volunteering with us please email volunteer@carersinherts.org.uk or call us on 01992 58 69 69. You can also visit our volunteer pages to learn more.

If you are looking for a way to support our work with unpaid family and friend carers and other good causes whilst having a chance to win a cash prize, why not consider taking part in a community lottery?

Seven of the 10 districts in Hertfordshire have a community lottery and we are delighted to be part of all of them and are looking at whether we can benefit from final two.

It costs £1 per ticket to play the community lottery and 60p of that is donated to good causes – 50p of which can be donated to us if we are your chosen charity.

Each ticket consists of six numbers (each one between 0 and 9) and there will be a weekly draw to generate a six-digit number. You can win a jackpot of £25,000 for matching all the numbers. Other prizes of £25, £250 and £2,000, and free tickets are available for matching fewer numbers in the sequence. Players must have at least the first or last two numbers to win a prize!

The Community Lotteries that we are part of are:

Broxbourne – www.broxbournelottery.co.uk
East Herts – www.easthertslottery.co.uk
Hertsmere – www.hertsmerecommunitylottery.co.uk
North Herts – www.northhertscommunitylottery.co.uk
St Albans – www.stalbansdistrictlottery.co.uk
Watford – www.watfordcommunitylottery.co.uk
Welwyn Hatfield – www.welhatcommunitylottery.co.uk

Hazel Howell, our Fundraising Manager said: “We are so excited to be one of charities that you can support by playing a Community Lottery in Hertfordshire! The funds raised will help us continue ensuring the incredible unpaid family and friend carers across Hertfordshire are identified, informed, supported and heard. Good luck to all who play.”

If you are interested in playing the community lottery you should be at least 18 years old and live in Great Britain.

If you want to sign up to support us for any of the lotteries the links are below along with contact details if you have any questions.
• Broxbourne – www.broxbournelottery.co.uk/support/carers-in-hertfordshire 01992 217888.
• East Herts – www.easthertslottery.co.uk/support/carers-in-hertfordshire 01279 912777.
• Hertsmere – www.hertsmerecommunitylottery.co.uk/support/carers-in-hertfordshire 020 8183 7801.
• North Herts – www.northhertscommunitylottery.co.uk/support/carers-in-hertfordshire 01462 520015.
• St Albans – www.stalbansdistrictlottery.co.uk/support/carers-in-hertfordshire 01727 304020.

We are delighted that our Young Carers Service has been recognised with a national Children and Young People Now Award.

We were announced as the winners of the Young Carers Award at the awards event on Thursday 23rd November 2023 (Carers Rights Day). We beat four other shortlisted organisations and projects to win.

The awards, in their 18th year, were organised by Children and Young People Now, which provide a website and magazine for professionals that work to improve the life chances of children, young people and families in the UK.

Having caring responsibilities can lead to young carers feeling isolated, missing opportunities and poorer health, but we provide information, guidance, and practical support such as activities, to enable young carers to socialise with each other, have a break from caring, develop their skills or knowledge and enhance their wellbeing. We also listen to their challenges and help them share their views and experiences with health and other services that they, or the people they look after, use.

Carole Whittle, our Health and Wellbeing Manager, said: “We are proud of everyone involved with our Young Carers Service, including the young carers who help us design our activities and services, our fantastic staff team who deliver them and our funders – this is your award. It recognises everyone’s commitment and resilience!”

Currently, more than 2,800 young people aged up to 19 in Hertfordshire who provide unpaid care or help to someone close to them who is ill, elderly, disabled or has an addiction is registered with our charity. If you or someone you know is aged 18 or under and has a caring role, contact us to find out about the support we provide young carers and their families. Send an email to young.carers@carersinherts.org.uk or call 01992 58 69 69.

It’s important people who provide unpaid care or support to someone close to them due to illness, a disability, frailty or addiction, know their rights, wherever they are in their caring journey. This Carers Rights Day (Thursday 23rd November 2023) and beyond, we want to help raise awareness about how we at Carers in Hertfordshire and other services are there to ensure carers are identified, informed, supported and heard.

This year’s theme is ‘Your rights: today, tomorrow and in the future’ to highlight carers’ rights currently and due to come into force. Whether in the workplace or education, in accessing health or social care, when interacting with other professionals or at home and the upcoming right for unpaid carers a right to request up to five days unpaid leave a year to care for a dependant they look after.

Whether you are a new carer or have been looking after someone for a while, why not find out about your rights and the support available to you? One way we support carers is by organising workshops and events to enable you to meet other carers and have a break from caring, to pick up tips to help them in their caring role or talk to MPs and people from organisations that pay for or provide health and community services.

We have a range of activities taking place on Carers Rights Day, which include:
• Our Annual Event for Carers in Hatfield, 10am – 3.20pm. Carers attending can take part in workshops such as one focused on meditation, another on benefits and one about legal matters. There will also be information stands so carers can talk to people from various organisations that provide services for unpaid carers or the people they look after.
• A Legal Planning Workshop online, 1pm – 2.30pm. Solicitor Gemma Young, from Setfords Solicitors, will provide information about wills and Lasting Power of Attorney.
• An evening talk about Direct Payments online for people who provide unpaid care or help to an adult close to them that has a physical or learning disability or an autism spectrum condition. The session will cover what Direct Payments are, who is eligible for them, how they can be used and the benefits and drawbacks of them.

We have also arranged for a small group of carers from the Harpenden and Hitchin area to meet with their local MP Bim Afalomi on Friday 24th November 2023, to discuss any caring related issues they face and general challenges and matters they want to raise.

A charity spokesperson said: “Around 9% of people in England and Wales are providing unpaid care or help to a partner, relative or friend, and it is vital they feel confident to know where to turn to for help when they need it and to challenge things when their rights are not being met. We are there throughout the year to ensure carers in Hertfordshire are supported and don’t feel they have to care alone!”

If you are in Hertfordshire who provide unpaid care to someone or you live elsewhere and look after someone in the county, we are there for you. Contact us by emailing contact@carersinherts.org.uk or call 01992 58 69 69. Details of these events and our upcoming courses and workshops are on our Events page and you may be able to book to attend if there is still space.

National charity Carers UK, which co-ordinates Carers Rights Day, has some useful information related to a range of carers’ rights. Visit www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/guides-and-tools/looking-after-someone-guide or get in touch by emailing advice@carersuk.org or calling 0808 808 7777 (9am – 6pm Monday to Friday).

We need your nominations in the Movement for Good Awards as the more votes we receive the greater the chances of getting a £1,000 donation towards our work identifying and supporting unpaid carers.

The Awards is an annual programme of giving by the Benefact Group, an independent, specialist financial services group.

It is easy to nominate us, all have to do is visit https://movementforgood.com/ click on the nominate a charity button and then put Carers in Hertfordshire into the search bar and select us. Then fill in your contact details.

You have until 11.59pm on 6th September 2023 to enter us for the next draw. Then the nominations will open for the December 2023 draws, so please vote for us again from 7th September.

We’d appreciate your vote and ask if you can to spread the word so others can nominate us, so as to improve our chances of securing a donation.