Thurrock Carers Service supports unpaid carers who live in Thurrock.
A carer is someone who is regularly looking after someone because they are elderly, disabled or have a long term health condition. This is usually a family member but can also be a friend or a neighbour. You don’t have to live in the same household to be a carer.
Fleur Jones – Mannix, Thurrock Carers Manager said “When the lock down first happened, I was concerned, worried about how we can still support all our carers, but when the initial panic subsides, the support we offer is no different, we just cant do the face to face interaction we were all used to.
“Well-being calls were the first thing we put in place, some daily, some bi weekly, and others weekly, checking, referring to other support networks needed, setting up shopping collection, prescriptions, you name it we try and help with it if we can.
“The next step was the support groups. We started the zoom carers group every Thursday, which started slowly, but now we have a good response. The drug & alcohol carers group happens every other Tuesday evening at 6.00pm, and The carers of children with SEN support every other Friday afternoon at 2pm. We do quizzes, and have had entertainment, Andy sings swing was good enough to give up his time for us. Zoom isn’t for everyone, but I think if you give it a go its not as hard as you may be imagining.”
For more information on Thurrock Carers Virtual support groups and Outreach programmes view their latest service booklet below.