Who Cares?
THIS MONTH I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORK OF THOSE HEROES IN THE SECRET
SERVICE. But I'm not, as you may imagine, talking about the SAS! In fact,
I'm referring to the six million people who provide unpaid care to someone
they know. National Carers Week, 8th-14th June, gives us an opportunity to give
thanks to this hidden army of people who sacrificially support a friend or
relative who is ill, frail or disabled.Carers can be young or old, and although
a quarter of carers are over the age of 60, there are a considerable number of
children and young people who act as key carers for siblings or parents. At
some point in our lives, however, 3 in 5 of us will need to take on this role.
Some will juggle work with their caring responsibilities, but many will give up
an income, future employment prospects and pension rights to look after a loved
one. This means that carers often struggle financially -the Carers Allowance is
the lowest benefit of its kind at only £50.55 a week for providing a
minimum of 35 hours of care. Despite carers saving the UK economy an incredible
£87 billion, the benefit that they are able to receive is equivalent to
less than £1.34 an hour!
But this isn't the only impact of caring -people providing high levels of care are twice as likely to be permanently sick or disabled themselves. A survey of carers undertaken last year found that three-quarters of them felt that their health was worse as a result of the strain of caring and that one-fifth felt ill "all the time" . In both cases carers often ignored their health problems in order to continue with their caring responsibilities or because they were unable to get away from the home or find an opportunity to visit their GP.
If you are a carer I want you to know that your love and care is appreciated and acknowledged, and that if there is any way that we at Lode Chapel can provide some practical support to assist you, then we would be happy for you to contact us and let us know. If you are not a carer, but know someone who is, why not use this month as an opportunity to show them how special they are, and to ask them if there is any way you can help.
In John 15:13 Jesus says that "No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends." Whilst he was referring to his own death on the cross, there is a truth here which is relevant to all who sacrificially give of themselves for the sake of others -such love truly is great! Carers may not make the headlines of the national newspapers, but they are indeed heroes, deserving of our thanks and support.