Advice for Carers

Have you become a carer to someone with a visual impairment?

You may have lots of questions to ask, about how you can support the person you are caring for, or advice and help in your rôle as a carer. We hope we can provide some of the answers here.

Let's start with the basics.

What is a carer?

A carer is a family member or friend who provides significant levels of care and support to an adult or child who has a disability, a mental illness, a chronic health condition or who is frail aged.

A carer looks after someone who is unable to look after themselves, with caring playing a major part in their life. Carers assume the caring role voluntarily and informally as part of family and community life. Carers are often quite isolated and can themselves benefit from support.

Most carers would still not recognise themselves under the term 'carer'. They are just people trying to cope as best they can while helping to look after a relative, a partner, or their child/children. They may even be juggling paid work with their unpaid caring responsibilities at home.

Getting advice

Firstly, refer to our page I've been diagnosed with a visual impairment..... which provides a wealth of advice in relation to visual impairment generally. Although this has been written to give advice to a person with a visual impairment, the information is equally of use to someone researching visual impairment. We also have contact details of organisations offering support for people with a visual impairment locally and nationally.

Your local borough will probably have a carers' support team and it is a good idea to make contact with them to find out what's available for you.

The following gives contact details for carers' support for the boroughs that we serve:

Barnet - The Princess Royal Trust Barnet Carers Centre is based at 3rd Floor, Global House, 303 Ballards Lane, London, N12 8NP.
They can be contacted on 020 8343 9698 or by fax on 020 8445 1193. Their email address is admin@ barnetcarers. org.
Their website can be found at www. barnetcarers. org.

Brent - The Princess Royal Trust Brent Carers Centre is based at Wembley Centre for Health & Care, 116 Chaplin Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA0 4UZ.
You can contact them on 020 8795 6240, by fax on 020 8795 6250 or by email to: email@ brentcarerscentre. org. uk.
Their website can be found at: www. carers. org/brent.

Ealing Carers Centre are based at 46 South Ealing Road, Ealing, Lodon, W5 4QA.
Their contact details are 020 8840 1566 or textphone 020 8840 5688. info@aftb.org.uk. Their opening hours are Mon-Thurs: 9am-5pm, Fri 10am-3pm (except bank holidays and other seasonal breaks). Their website isW3Schools

Enfield Carers, (Carers UK, Enfield Branch) can be contacted on 020 8803 1000.

Haringey - The Princess Royal Trust Haringey Carers Centre is based at the Winkfield Resource Centre, 33 Winkfield Road, London, N22 5RP. You can contact them on 020 8888 0808, by fax on 020 8888 0831 or by email: iinfo@ haringeycarers. org.

Carers Support Harrow Based at 25-27 Pinner Green, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 2AF, their Chief Executive is Mike Coker.
You can contact them on 020 8868 5224, by Fax on 020 8868 8797 and by email tomcoker@ carerssupportharrow. org.
Their website is www.carers.org/harrow

New Emergency Card for Carers

Harrow Council has launched the Carers' Emergency Support Services (CESS) which provides cover in crisis or emergency situations. This innovative card can be carried just like a donor card and will alert emergency services that the person they are dealing with is a carer, with someone reliant upon them. The card gives a contact number to call ensure ensure that alternative care arrangements are made. The service is free of charge and available 24 hours a day. For more information, you can call 020 8420 94780 or from their Harrow Carers' website.

Hillingdon - The Princess Royal Trust Hillingdon Carers Centre can be found at 1st Floor, 126 High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1JT.
You can contact them on 01895 811206, by fax on 01895 22580062 or by email to: office@ hillingdoncarers. org. uk.
Their website address is:www. hillingdoncarers. org. uk

Hounslow Association of Community Care Organisations are based at Alexandra House, Albany Road, Brentford, TW8 0NE.
You can contact them on 020 8758 9323 or by email to sandy.rahman@btconnect.com Their website isW3Schools

Richmond - The Princess Royal Trust Richmond Carers Centre is baed at 5 Briar Road, Twickenham, TW2 6RB.
You can contact them on 020 8867 2380 or by fax on 020 8538 3712.
Their emaill address is: info@ richmondcarers. org Their website iswww. carers. org/richmond

For general advice in respect to being a carer we suggest referring to and/or contacting the following organisations:-

If you would like general information about entitlement to allowances and support services, the direct.gov Caring For Someone web page will give you information on a variety of topics including: caring and support services; money matters; caring for a disabled child; health and taking a break; carers and employment; and carers' rights.

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers is a charitable organisation which says they are the largest provider of comprehensive carers' support services in the UK. Telephone: 0844 800 4361. You can contact them by email at info@ info@carers.org and their website can be found at http://www.carers.org/.

Carers UK Carers provide unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner. Carers give so much to society yet, as a consequence of caring, they experience ill health, poverty and discrimination.

Carers UK is an organisation of carers fighting to end this injustice. We will not stop until people recognise the true value of carers' contribution to society and carers get the practical, financial and emotional support they need.

Blind Voice offers an excellent web page, outlining the guiding techniques for anyone new to working with people with a visual impairment which can be found at http://www.blindvoice.co.uk/sightedguide.htm .

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