About Us

WEST NORFOLK CARERS…

is a small independent charity, with a strong history supporting unpaid carers and their families. The youngest, young carer we support is 6 years old and the oldest person we support is 97 years old. Working across such a range of ages, we tailor support to the individual so each person gains support appropriate to their needs. We work to help family carers to improve their emotional and physical well-being, resilience and abilities to cope with their caring roles - whilst also have a ‘life of their own’. We are dedicated to supporting family carers of all ages and helping them to cope with their caring responsibilities.

Many people who have a caring role often do not necessarily think of themselves as carers. Therefore they may be unaware of the services and support that exists for them. We wish to extend our impact and make more of a positive difference to even more carers living locally.

The charity was set up in 1993 in response to the NHS & Community Care Act (1990) which highlighted that carers had a right to be recognised. It was literally a project in a box. Since that time the service has grown and gained charitable status in 2004. The service supports over 3000 carers yearly.

We have a significant experience of developing forward-looking services to support carers. For example, West Norfolk Carers established the county-wide Carers Council for Norfolk, supporting it to independence in 2015; the CCN is actively working to capture the voice of unpaid carers under its new name Carers Voice (Norfolk & Waveny).

We are a small team of 10, plus 6 volunteers, and our key function is to help people cope with the stresses and strains of being an unpaid family carer. To do this we offer one to one support, counselling, group activities, young carers support group, whole-family support and workshops.

The charity is funded by grants from charitable giving foundations and community grants and donations. We have been especially grateful to the National Lottery and the Norfolk Community Foundation who funded our work with younger carers in 2020 via their Covid-19 emergency fund. We are now able to deliver digital groups, workshops and activity programmes for carers who are at risk of becoming even more isolated and vulnerable.

We like to work in partnership with others and last year we were delighted to enter a formal partnership with Voluntary Norfolk, serving as a delivery partner in West Norfolk for the county Carers Matter Young Carers & Families service.

Our work is carefully planned with the carers to meet the needs of those we serve. So whether you are a Young Carer, a person affected by the substance misuse of a family member, or are older and struggling to care for a family member, we can with confidence offer the support needed, when needed.

We know that sometimes, things can go wrong, and our trained Advocate is available to help carers get through the most difficult and challenging situations.

West Norfolk Carers continues to adapt and grow, and it is tribute to charity’s leadership and team that services for unpaid carers and their families is accessible to carers whatever their circumstances.