St Helens Cares Centre

St Helens Carers Centre is an independent registered charity that supports unpaid carers looking after someone who lives in the St Helens area. 

At the centre they aim to support both young and adult carers to recognise their own needs, have their voices heard, help with their physical and mental wellbeing, and ensure they are fully understood, valued, and supported in their caring role. 

People often don't recognise themselves as a carer but if you provide support to a friend, partner, relative or neighbour who could not manage without you, then you are a Carer and St Helens Carers Centre can help you. 

Carers Assessments

An Individual Carers Assessment is when you have your needs assessed, as a carer, without the person whom you care for being present. This would take place with a carer support officer from the St Helens Carers Centre, as we are now carrying out these assessments on behalf of the local authority.

A carers assessment is a more in-depth discussion and will consider the different ways caring affects your life and works out how you can carry on doing the things that are important to you and your family. You will talk about your caring role and what this involves on a day to day basis, your feelings about caring, your physical, mental and emotional health, and how caring effects your work, leisure, education, wider family and relationships. The information provided in your assessment can then be used to identify your support needs and to discuss how these could be met. This might mean that we can give you help or put you in touch with other organisations that you can talk to. If eligible, you will receive a personalised support plan. In this there may be specific services and support identified for yourself, which can help to balance your time and responsibilities. You will receive a copy of your support plan. This information will be kept on our records as well as with People's Services (St Helens Adult Social Care & Health Service).

Alternatively, you can also access a Joint Carers Assessment. This would be with you, the person you care for and a care manager from Peoples Services. They would complete your Joint Carer & Community Care Assessment and subsequent support plan for the person you care for, if eligible. If you have an eligible need, the information obtained from you will be referred to our carer support team who will complete your Carer Support Plan. They will contact you to discuss this.

Once registered with the Carer Centre, they can provide help/advice with the following:

• Benefits and finances - information on benefits available and how to make claims, details of agencies that can help with Hardship Funds and Debt Management
• Carers rights and employment issues - advice on carers rights, employment law, where to seek detailed information
• Practical help - details on how and where to access services for both the carer and cared for person, such as aids and adaptations, equipment such as wheelchair hire, accessible holidays, respite breaks, voluntary agencies and local activity groups for disabled children, vulnerable adults, older people and those with mental ill health
• Welfare benefits - at St Helens Carers Centre they have a team of fully trained welfare benefits advisers to help support you and the person you care for with welfare benefits. The team can carry out full benefits checks, complete forms, support with digital claims, check awards, support with changes in your circumstances and more.
• Carer support groups - carer support groups are a great way for carers to talk to others who are in a similar situation, enabling them to share information and advice, often providing them with a feeling of strength and support. 
• Training and Leisure Courses - caring can be quite demanding and some of the skills may be new to you. Also, caring can become isolating and mean that carers lose opportunities for themselves. They have a range of training courses and information sessions based at the Carers Centre. This can be training to help you in your caring role such as moving & handling, recreational classes to give you a break such relaxation techniques or courses to develop your own skills or help you to return to work, such as computer skills. All our courses are free of charge.
• Carer membership card - once registered with the Carers Centre you are entitled to their membership card for free. This shows you are a registered carer with us in addition to giving you lots of discounts at various local shops and businesses. To access this card please drop into the Centre and have your photograph taken and we will then issue your card. Its lasts for 12 months and can be renewed for £1 each year.

Contact Details

Telephone: 01744 675615

Email: info@sthelenscarers.org.uk

Website: https://www.sthelenscarers.info