You may not think of yourself a Carer, but our services are available to you if you are over 16 and look after a relative or friend, who due to physical or mental illness, age related difficulties, disability or an addiction, cannot manage without your support.

We provide information and support to Carers by phone, email, text, online and in person.

• Information– find out about services available to Carers, benefits and rights.
• Support– a listening ear, drop-ins, support groups, social activities, online forum, live chat and training courses.
• Carer’s Needs Assessment– identify and access the support you need as a Carer.
• Kent Carer’s Emergency Card– peace of mind when you are away from the person you look after.
• Carers’ Hospital Service –  team supporting Carers at QEQM, William Harvey and Kent & Canterbury Hospitals.
• Services for Young Adult Carers – dedicated team for Carers aged 16-24 years.

Legally all adult Carers caring for an adult are entitled to a Carer’s Needs Assessment. This is your opportunity to think about how your caring role is impacting on your life and what information and support might help. You can arrange a meeting or phone call with one of our Carer Support Coordinators – they can take up to two hours and you do not need to prepare in advance or bring any evidence with you. However, things like your NHS number are requested on the form and it may be a good idea to think about what may help your situation before the meeting.

What is a Carer’s Needs Assessment?

Check out our schedule of monthly drop-ins and support groups (online during the pandemic) and search our online calendar to see what’s on this month.

We provide information and support to Carers by phone, email, text, online and in person. Our telephone helpline 0300 302 0061 is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8.30am – 6.00pm, and Tuesday, Thursday 9.00am to 5pm except bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year.

Professionals can make referrals by phone or online.

We run Carer drop-ins, support groups, social activities, training workshops and fundraising events. You don’t need to book for monthly drop-ins or support groups, just turn up. If an event needs to be booked, follow the link to reserve your place.

We can complete a Carer’s Needs Assessment at home with you, or away from home if you wish to talk freely about your situation. If you would be unable to leave the person you care for safely, we can look at care options at home to support them while you are with us.

If you need support for the person you look after to enable you to attend one of our activities please let us know and we will work with you to explore options.

If you need support for the person you look after to enable you to attend one of our activities please let us know and we will work with you to explore options?

You may be able to organise a regular break from your caring responsibilities through organisations such as, Volcare and Crossroads Care Kent

If the person you care for is in receipt of support from Kent County Council you may be able to request planned breaks for you as part of their Care and Support Plan.

If you do not qualify for funded support from Kent County Council you can look at arranging your own breaks through care homes or care agencies.

We’ve compiled some useful websites and included a guide to local services available during lockdown 2 which has been produced by Connect Well East Kent but get in touch with us if you need further information or support.

When you are caring for someone, it is essential to have peace of mind that if an emergency were to happen, you have a plan, and if necessary replacement care can be sorted out quickly and with minimum fuss. We’ve compiled a useful checklist and some websites and apps that might be helpful.

Benefits

Carers’ Support East Kent can provide information about benefits available and referrals to services that can help you make benefit claims.

Grants

turn2us provides a guide to accessing grants, if you need to be referred by a service to access a grant application then Carers’ Support East Kent can help with this.

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/

One-off payments

You may be eligible for financial support from Kent County Council via a Carers One Off Payment or a Carers Direct Payment as a result of having a Carers Needs Assessment. Carers’ Support East Kent can carry out your assessment to see if you qualify for this.

We welcome compliments, comments and complaints about our services.

Yes, we have lots of useful information that might be helpful for you on this website.

We have a list of local and national organisations that can help you, on this website.

If the person you look after lives in Kent and has care and support needs, they are entitled to a needs assessment from Kent County Council. Care and support is the term used to describe the help some adults need to live as well as possible with any illness or disability they may have. It can include help with things like:

• getting out of bed
• washing/dressing
• getting to work
• accessing education, training and volunteering opportunities
• eating
• seeing friends
• being part of the community.

The assessment will see what care and support they may need, how this will be provided and paid for. You’ll need to contact Kent County Council to see if the person you look after is eligible for a needs assessment visit.

Kent Young Carers can endorse bus pass applications for Carers aged 11-18. For more information please contact Kent Young Carers.

https://www.imago.community/Children-and-Young-People/Kent-Young-Carers

0300 111 111 0

info@kentyoungcarers.org.uk

Kent Young Carers provides support to Young Carers aged 5-18 across Kent but if you are 16-18 years you can also access information and support from Carers’ Support East Kent.

Contact Imago (Young Carers aged 5-18)

https://www.imago.community/Children-and-Young-People/Kent-Young-Carers

0300 111 111 0

info@kentyoungcarers.org.uk

Contact Carers’ Support East Kent Young Adult Carers Team (for Young Carers aged 16-24

YAC@carersek.org.uk

01304 364637

Yes, Young Adult Carers who are aged 16-18 can access support from both Imago’s Kent Young Carers Project and Carers’ Support East Kent’s Young Adult Carers Service.

Yes, if you are a Carer over 16 you can get information and support from Carers’ Support East Kent whatever the age of the person you care for.

We do encourage Young Adult Carers under 18 to let their parents/guardians know that they are accessing support. However, we do not need their consent for you to access support and we would not contact them without your consent unless there was a safety issue.