Care for the Carers joined other local charities at Eastbourne Pride at Princes Park in Eastbourne on Saturday 20th July, to raise awareness of support available for local carers.
Care for the Carers, the local carers centre for East Sussex, supports anyone who looks after someone who could not do without their help, from all communities in East Sussex, so that no one is left to care alone.
Jennifer Twist, Chief Executive Officer at Care for the Carers says, “We want to encourage any local carers to reach out for support from Care for the Carers. We know that there are many LGBTQ+ carers in East Sussex, and we hope that by supporting PRIDE in Eastbourne and Seaford later this summer, we can get the message out amongst the LGBTQ+ community, that support is available.”
In the recent UK census, 147,405 unpaid carers identified with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or other (LGB+) sexual orientation, but Carers UK estimates there to be at least 390,000 LGBTQ+ carers in the UK. Only around a third of the number of LGBTQ+ carers who might be expected to, get support from carer support services. (Carers Trust Network Impact Report). This is reinforced by a survey that found 67% of respondents thought that support services need to take steps to become more LGBT friendly. (Carers UK, 2022)
Mark Townsend, from the Communities Team at Care for the Carers, was involved in the Eastbourne Pride parade and the information stand. “A huge thank you everyone – carers, our supporters, staff members, family and friends, who joined us for the parade and came to chat to us or play a family game at our stand. We got to meet lots of people, including the new local MP, Josh Babarinde OBE, who visited us to hear more about our work in supporting carers. It was a delight to share in this celebration of our LGBTQ+ community and to meet so many new people at Pride.”
Care for the Carers are now looking forward to meeting everyone at Seaford Pride Family Festival on 24th August.
