We are currently looking to fill the role of:
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- Admin Worker (35 hours)
Applications close on Monday 10 January 2022.
You can find out more about the roles and how to apply at our VACANCIES page!
Carers Right’s Day 2021
CARERS RIGHTS DAY 2021 will be held on Thursday 25 November, and to mark the day, the Carers Centre is hosting a special video call from 12 noon.
We’ll be joined by Allan Robertson from Social Security Scotland, who will provide information on the changes to certain benefits and what this will mean to carers; our own Laura McKenzie, who will give an update on the Local Carers Strategy Review; as well as the carer representative on the Falkirk Health & Social Care Partnership Integration Joint Board, Morven Mack.
Click here to view the full agenda!
Whether you are a new carer or have been caring for someone for a while, we believe that itโs important that you understand your rights and are able to access the support that is available to you as soon as you need it. Many people are taking on more caring responsibilities for their relatives and friends who are disabled, ill or older and who need support. Each year, Carers Rights Day helps us:
- ensure carers are aware of their rights
- let carers know where to get help and support
- raise awareness of the needs of carers.
This year’s Carers Rights Day campaign will focus on raising awareness of the rights that unpaid carers have. The pandemic has had a massive impact on the lives of carers, affecting access to services, the ability to juggle work and care and much more. That’s why itโs more important than ever that carers are aware of what they have the right to.
To find out more, or to join the session, please contact Susan Docherty on 01324 611 510 (option 4), or email susandocherty@centralcarers.co.uk.
Election of the next carer representative to Clackmannanshire IJB
At the next Clackmannanshire Carers Forum, taking place on Thursday 18 November, a vote will be taken to elect the next Clackmannanshire carer representative to Clackmannanshire & Stirling Health & Social Care Partnership’s Integration Joint Board (IJB).
There is one nominee for this post, Paul Morris. You can find out more about Paul below. If you would like to attend the forum, please contact Nicola Weedon on 01324 611510 (option 2), or email nicolaweedon@centralcarers.co.uk.
My name is Paul Morris.ย I am fatherย to two boys, married and work full time as Project Manager for the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.
I, alongside my wife Susan, am a full time carer to my eldest son, around all aspects of his life and across every aspect of my own.ย My family lives in alloa and has done so for 20 years.ย I have lived in Clackmannanshire since I was a toddler.
My eldest son, Lachlan, is a bright, outgoing 14 year-old boy, who attends Alloa Academy.ย He has quadriplegic choreo-athetoid cerebral palsy and requires support in every aspect of life. Lachlan communicates using an eyegaze device, the Tobii i-12+, which also acts as his window to the world via the worldwide web.
Educated to postgraduate level, I haveย two decades of work experienceย in policy, politics and economic development.ย ย I have worked with elected representatives at all levels and developed policy and strategy documents in many fields, including two manifestos at Glasgow level, a report on the Scottish Labour Market in 2006, a Social Enterprise Strategy for Glasgow and others.ย This work experience has provided me with valuable insights into the processes in place to effect change.
Alongside my extensive experience through work, I have been a trustee of Cerebral Palsy Scotland (previously Bobath Scotland) since 2015.ย This national, multi-million pound charity, provides support to children and adults with motor difficulties associated with cerebral palsy.
My biography is available on LinkedIn.
We’re hiring!
We’re looking to fill these positions for our Young Carers and Young Adult Carers Team:
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- Young Adult Carers Worker
- Young Carers Worker (Maternity Leave)
We are also looking to fill these roles:
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- Admin Worker (35 hours)
- Carer Support Worker (21 hours)
Applications close on Monday 29th November
You can find out more about the roles and how to apply at our VACANCIES page!
We’re hiring – again!
We’re looking to fill two full time positions for our Adult Carer Support Team in Falkirk:
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- Telephone Support Worker
Applications close on Monday 4 October!ย
You can find out more about the roles and how to apply at our VACANCIES page!
We’re hiring!
We’re looking to fill three full time positions for our Young Carers and Young Adult Carers Team:
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- Young Adult Carers Worker
- Young Carers Worker
- Young Carers Involvement Worker
Applications close on Monday 27 September!ย
You can find out more about the roles and how to apply at our VACANCIES page!
Carers Week 2021 – Manager’s Report 2020-21
The last year has certainly brought about more unusual challenges than we might have expected going into 2020!
Here’s a review of what we’ve been able to carry out since the beginning of the pandemic, and the ways in which we’ve adapted to continue helping as many carers as possible!
Carers Week 2021!
“This year, carers across the country are continuing to face new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are taking on more caring responsibilities for their relatives and friends who are disabled, ill or older and who need support.
They need to be recognised for the difficulties they are experiencing, respected for all they are doing, and provided with information, support and understanding. So during Carers Week, we’re coming together to help Make Caring Visible and Valued.” ~ www.carersweek.org
Carers Week 2021 will run from Monday 7 June until Sunday 13 June. To celebrate Carers Week, we have put together an 
extensive programme of events running throughout the week, including: The Big Carers Week Raffle!, a Cool Creatures Watch Party, and more! To find out more about what’s happening, click this link!
Please note, all of our Carers Week activities and groups will use Zoom, so if you would like any help with accessing Zoom, please contact us on 01324 611510 (option 4) or email centre@centralcarers.co.ukย and one of the team will be happy to help.
For carers who have no access to the internet, our support workers are here daily and available to help with any information, advice or support you need as a carer. Please call us if you need to talk on 01324 611510.
Patricia Cassidy, Chief Officer of Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership said: โI hope this Carers Week not only celebrates the invaluable work of unpaid carers across the Falkirk area, but also helps raise awareness of the many different ways someone can be a carer.
โMany people donโt realise the support they provide for their family member, close friend or even their neighbour, could make them a carer. I would encourage everyone to share the campaignโs messages, and if they see themselves in the stories of carers, please access the wonderful support provided by the Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre.
Community and Dementia: Creating Better Lives in Forth Valley
STORYTELLING SESSIONS
On 27 May 2021, Life Changes Trust are hosting a conference called ‘Community and Dementia: Creating Better Lives in Forth Valley’.ย It’s an opportunity for local people to share what it feels like to live in Forth Valley, when you live with dementia, care for a loved one with dementia, or work with people with dementia and/or unpaid carers.ย It is also an opportunity for local groups, organisations and decision-makers to respond.
Life Changes Trust are inviting you to say what matters to you, as someone with dementia or as an unpaid carer, by attending a special session run by the Village Storytelling Centre and held before the conference. ย ย What you and others tell us will be at the heart of the conference.
The storyteller uses stories and imaginary characters to make it easier for people to talk about dementia in a way that doesn’t feel too personal.ย It is an opportunity for your voice and your thoughts to be heard, exactly as you want them to be.ย Whatever you want to say is added to that of others taking part and, together, you create a hypothetical character – a person with dementia or an unpaid carer.ย The ‘characters’ represent what it is like to live in Forth Valley with the experiences you have given the characters.
The storytellers analyse the conversations that have created these ‘characters’. ย We draw out priorities which will be shared at the conference for discussion and responses.ย The priorities will be presented with some quotes (anonymised) taken from the sessions.ย You can see an example of this, delivered by Shona Cowie from the Village Storytelling Centre at the Edinburgh & Lothians event in November 2020.
There is a session for people with dementia, another for unpaid carers and a third for workers and volunteers providing support to people with dementia and unpaid carers.
- ย People with dementia โ online storytelling session for people living with dementia to share experiences about life in Forth Valley – Monday 17 May 2021 – 10.30 am to 12 noon (or 1-to-1 telephone slot)
- ย Unpaid carers โ online storytelling session for unpaid carers of people with dementia to share experiences about life caring for someone in Forth Valley – Tues 18 May 2021 – 10 am to 12 noonย (or 1-to-1 telephone slot)
Posted on behalf of Life Changes Trust
Festive opening hours and support services
The Carers Centre staff team has been working from home providing support to local carers by telephone, email and online since March.ย The service will close from Friday 25 December 2020 until Monday 4 January 2021 (inclusive), re-opening on Tuesday 5 January 2021.ย Details of local support and emergency services are available below:
- If you need an urgent Social Work service outwith normal office hours, you can contact the Emergency Duty Team on 01786 470500.
- For information about local health services which are available during the festive period, such as GPs and Pharmacies, please visit NHS Forth Valley – Know Who To Turn To When You Are Ill.
- There is a new Minor Injuries Assessment helpline for anyone living in NHS Forth Valley. Contact 01324 566130 or visit NHS Forth Valley – call mia.
- For an A-Z of health services over the festive period, you can go to NHS Forth Valley – A-Z of Winter Services.
- Our friends at CVS Falkirk have also put together a Wellness in Winter page on their website with lots of useful information and links – CVS Falkirk – Wellness in winter.
Finally, the staff and Board of the Carers Centre wish carers a happy, healthy and safe festive season and look forward to continuing to offer information and support in the New Year.