Carers Connected at Embracing Age leading the way in supporting Christian carers

We blogged about Carers Connected when it first began in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tina English, director of Embracing Age (one of our partners in Christians Together Against Loneliness), identified how isolated family carers had become as a result of successive lockdowns. She piloted a regular Zoom meeting for carers to share their experiences and pray together, and it was a lifeline for many.

Seeing the need and recognising that the end of the pandemic did not bring an end to the need for Christian carers to be supported, Tina was able to raise funds to appoint a coordinator for Carers Connected. Sarah Smith is now in post and working to expand the role of Carers Connected in helping carers. Weekly Zoom gatherings are held at 3.00 pm on Thursdays and 7.15 pm on Wednesdays. Sarah would value help in publicising Carers Connected and the flyer here provides all the details.

In January the national charity for carers, Carers UK, published a press release about the role of faith for carers. In the charity’s State of Caring 2023 survey, nearly a third (30%) of unpaid carers who identified with a religion said their faith helped improve their health and well-being. Carers who identified with a religion were also more likely to say they had ‘very good’ or ‘good’ mental health (27%) compared with carers who did not identify with a religion (20%). However, Carers UK found that only 7% of carers of faith received support with their caring role from a faith organisation or place of worship, suggesting faith communities could play a greater role in supporting unpaid carers.

Tina English commented in the Carers UK press release:

‘As a Christian charity we have seen first-hand the positive impact of bringing carers together to pray and chat with one another, in what can be very challenging circumstances. It’s so important that carers are seen and supported in their congregations and communities.’

Anna Chaplains across the country supporting family carers of older people couldn’t agree more with Tina’s views.