Easter Weekend and Support Services

The Carers Centre will be closed from Friday 7 April 2023 until Monday 10 April 2023 (inclusive), re-opening on Tuesday 11 April 2023.  Details of local support and emergency services are available below:

Young Carers Action Day!

It’s Young Carers Action Day!

Young Carers Action Day (YCAD) raises awareness about young carers (YCs) and young adult carers (YACs), the challenges they face and the support they need. This year’s theme is Make Time for Young Carers which highlights two things that are really important for YCs and YACs:

  • The need for professionals and responsible adults to make more time to listen to young carers and young adult carers explain the challenges they face, so we can better understand the support young carers and young adult carers actually need.
  • Once they understand the sort of support that’s required, responsible adults then need to make time to put that support in place.

For YCAD this year we’ll be Making Time for Young Carers with some exciting group activities! We’ll also be sharing some brilliant stop motion animations created by our Young Carers’ Voice group. 

You can find more information and resources on YCAD at Carers.org/YCAD or get involved on social media using the hashtag #YoungCarersActionDay

Festive Opening Hours and Support Services

The Carers Centre will be closed from 1 PM on Monday 26 December 2022 until Tuesday 3 January 2023 (inclusive), re-opening on Wednesday 4 January 2023.  Details of local support and emergency services are available below:

Finally, the staff and Board of the Carers Centre wish carers a happy, healthy and safe festive season, and we look forward to continuing to offer support in 2023.

Staff training day

Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre will be closed on Friday 16 December 2022 for a staff training day. We will re-open on Monday 19 December 2022.

We’re hiring!

The Carers Centre is a growing and forward-thinking organisation with ambition to support an increasing number of children, young people and adults who provide unpaid care for a family member or friend due to disability, illness, addiction, or frailty.

We are currently looking to fill the role of:

        • Young Carer Support Worker (21 hours per week)

Applications for this post close on Monday 5 December 2022.

You can find out more about this role at our VACANCIES page! Or if you’d like to apply, click below!

Falkirk Carers Strategy Consultations

Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership are currently consulting for a new Carers Strategy – a list of things we know are important to carers and the ways we can try to make things better.

There are two consultations open – one for adult carers, and one for young carers and young adult carers. The surveys will close Friday 23 December 2022.

You can complete the adult carers strategy consultation and find out more by clicking here.

To complete the young carer & young adult carer strategy consultation, click here.

If you have any further questions or would prefer a paper copy, please contact: carers@falkirk.gov.uk.

Falkirk and Clackmannanshire carers to receive Falkirk FC home tickets thanks to the Support our Bairns initiative

Following an incredibly difficult two years and amidst the ongoing cost of living crisis, The Falkirk Foundation teamed up with Falkirk Football Club to give those that are struggling the opportunity to come to games this season for free through the Support our Bairns initiative.

Thanks to the generosity of the Falkirk fanbase, carers in Falkirk and Clackmannanshire and their families will have the opportunity to attend Falkirk games at The Falkirk Stadium this season. 50 tickets will be made available to Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre, who will distribute them through their Respitality programme, ahead of every home game to give the carers and cared for in our community a chance to experience a match day and support their team without having to worry about the cost as well as the opportunity to have a break.

Falkirk Football Club matched what was raised, doubling the number of tickets and thus doubling the impact of the project and with gift aid added at no additional cost to fans, we were able to reach more of our community.

There is still an opportunity to be part of this as we are still raising funds for this initiative and if anyone would like to donate they can do so here: Donate with PayPal Giving Fund

Thank you to everyone who kindly donated to this worthwhile cause.

Derek Allison, CEO of Falkirk Foundation, said:

“The Falkirk Foundation would like to thank Falkirk FC and all the supporters who donated to the initiative to make football at The Falkirk Stadium more accessible to those that might not be able to afford the day out. As a result of the funds raised we have partnered with the Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre to provide their service users with some respite and the opportunity to come to the Falkirk Stadium and experience all the thrills of being at a game. Many carers may find it difficult to cover the costs of attending a football match and this initiative may ease that concern and allow them to enjoy a family day out.”

Ami McKnight, Carer Support Worker (Short Breaks) at Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre, added:

“Although caring for someone can be tough, stressful, and mentally and physically tiring, it can be rewarding too, often involving a great deal of pride and commitment. For many carers, however, the opportunity to have a break from their routine is vital to enable them to keep themselves well and have time out from their caring role.

“Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre recognises the benefits of having a short vital break to carers and is incredibly grateful to the Falkirk FC Foundation and Falkirk FC for their donation of match-day tickets to our Respitality programme. Not only will carers be able to support their local team and do something they may not normally be able to afford, we will also be able to offer the carers the gift of making memories.”

Jamie Swinney, CEO of Falkirk Football Club, said of the initiative:

“Firstly I would like to thank every Falkirk supporter who kindly donated to the Support our Bairns initiative. I want our football club and Foundation to act as an anchor for our local community, to provide support, assistance and a source of pride to people. The current cost of living crisis is making it more and more difficult for people to spend money on hobbies as people have less disposable income. This is particularly true for the most disadvantaged people in our community, so I am delighted we are able to jointly deliver this project with the support of the Foundation and Ami and her team. We look forward to welcoming many different families throughout the season with the thanks to the generosity of the Falkirk support.”

Summer 2022 newsletter now available!

The summer 2022 edition of the Carers Centre’s newsletter has now been sent out to all carers and organisations currently on our mailing list to receive information by post or email. If you haven’t recevied a copy of the newsletter, you can download the digital version by clicking below.

In this latest edition:

      • We’re sharing the story of Stewart, a carer in Clackmannashire, and his carer support journey
      • We have updates from our Young Carers Project
      • Information about our monthly Professionals Afternoon
      • and much more!

If you’ve missed this edition but would like to sign up to our e-mailing list to receive future newsletters, you can do so here.

 

Come and work with us!

The Carers Centre is a growing and forward-thinking organisation with ambition to support an increasing number of children, young people and adults who provide unpaid care for a family member or friend due to disability, illness, addiction, or frailty.

We are currently looking to fill the roles of:

        • Carer Support Worker x2 (28 hours)
        • Office Administrator (25 hours)

Applications for these posts close on Friday 20 May 2022.

You can find out more about the roles at our VACANCIES page! Or if you’d like to apply, click below!

Website feedback survey

We know that our website is one of the main ways that you interact with us, and we’re now looking for some feedback on it – what you like, what you don’t like, what’s missing, and more.

It should only take a few minutes to complete the survey, and your feedback really is vital to help us make sure that our website is the best resource it can be!

You can complete the survey using this link: form.jotform.com/CentralCarers/website-feedback-survey-2022.