What is a Carer?
A carer is someone, who, without payment, looks after or supports someone else, be it a partner, child, relative, friend or neighbour, who could not otherwise manage without their help.
This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, addiction or disability.
As a carer you may help with everyday tasks from getting up and going to bed, washing, dressing, using the toilet, shopping, cleaning, laundry and making meals, through to dealing with paperwork, arranging appointments and dealing with service providers and organisations supporting the person you care for.
The care you provide may also mean you are supporting someone who could be at risk if not supervised or encouraging them to do everyday things for themselves.
You don’t have to live with the person you care for to be considered a carer. You may provide care for a couple of hours a week or you could be involved 24 hours a day.
The term carer should not be confused with a care worker or care assistant who receives payment for looking after someone.
Who can we help?
Caring with Confidence can help all carers who:
- provide unpaid care to someone
- live in England
- are aged 18 or over
We also work with a number of carer organisations who can help to support particular groups of carers. Click on the links below for further information about how we can help: