Carers Wales - The Voice of 350,000-plus People In Wales

Carers Wales is a charity set up to help the 350,000-plus people in Wales who care for family or friends. 

According to Carers Wales, at some point almost every one of us will be involved in looking after an older relative, sick friend or disabled family member with carers providing 96% of all community care across the country.

Without carers, the Welsh NHS would collapse as it would be left to face a £7.7 billion care bill it cannot afford.

However, caring also takes its toll on carers' own personal finances, health, career, family and social life with many forced to give up work to care and rely on low-level benefits, forcing them into poverty.

In return many carers may face, isolation, worry and get little or no recognition of support for what they do which is where Carers Wales can help.

The organisation supports carers by providing information and advice about caring and helps them make the most of their finances, juggle their career and caring lives and offer them a listening ear with support when they need it.

On a wider scale, the charity campaigns for change to make life better for carers and the people they look after, influencing policy through its research based on carers' real-life experiences.

Carers Wales is part of Carers UK which runs a 24/7 website forum where carers can talk to others in a similar situation and get help from those who truly know how they feel.

It also runs an adviceline - open from 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays - available on 0808 808 7777.

We decided to highlight the work of Carers Wales because on Friday we will be publishing our latest Information Sheet which concentrates on the subject of carers and the impacts of the The Carers Strategies (Wales) Measure 2010.

Please return to our website on Friday where you will be able to download our latest Information Sheet and find out more about caring across Wales.