Each year Australia’s 2.7 million Carers, and their outstanding contribution to our nation, are celebrated and recognised through National Carers Week – October 13-19.
Carers play a valuable and important role in today’s society, but we know that being a carer can be very challenging.
According to Carers Australia, carers provide $60.3 billion of unpaid care annually.
Carers make a significant contribution to the care and wellbeing of people with a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness and the aged.
STEPS Community Services Manager, Josh Hansen says being a carer can often be very challenging.
“STEPS aim to provide support networks that help to connect carers to community networks and provide a sense of support,” Josh said.
“Being a carer can be hard; by connecting carers with services and groups in their local area, we hope to let carers know they are important too, they are an extraordinary group of people that we really want to celebrate, especially at this time of year.
“It’s often very easy for carers to not take time for themselves, as they are too busy caring for someone else, but we want to let them know that self-care really is vital to ensure that they are looked after, feel well and most importantly feel supported.
“It’s a role that can be very isolating and we want to let carers know they are not alone,” Josh said.
STEPS Care for Carers is a free service designed to give carers the support, advice and counselling needed to maintain a healthy well-being.
The STEPS Care for Carers service will soon be transitioning to a new scheme, it is currently available in the Wide Bay, Burnett and Gympie regions; call 07 4150 1900 for more information.
For more information on Carers Week, visit www.carersweek.com.au
