Carers Week to run from 8-14 June

Carers Week is the annual awareness campaign set up by Carers UK to recognise the UK’s 6.5 million unpaid carers looking after family members or friends who are older, disabled or living with a mental or physical illness.

This year Carers Week runs from Monday 8 to Sunday 14 June and the organisers are asking people to come together and help Make Caring Visible.

Age UK, Carers Trust, Motor Neurone Disease Association, Oxfam GB and Rethink Mental Illness will be joining with Carers UK to highlight the contribution unpaid carers have made – and continue to make – keeping some of society’s most vulnerable people safe and well during the Covid-19 pandemic.

They are encouraging everyone across the UK to show solidarity with family carers who, for the large part, are caring behind closed doors.

Research published by Carers UK last month shows 70% of unpaid carers are having to provide more care for loved ones during the outbreak, and 55% are feeling overwhelmed and are worried about burning out.

New research about the role of unpaid carers during the Covid-19 outbreak will be released closer to the week.

For more information about Carers Week visit www.carersweek.org