The Ca(I)re Programme - supporting carers in
Edinburgh
The Ca(I)re (Putting the ‘I’ into Care) programme helps carers in
Edinburgh maintain their own good health and general
wellbeing and enable them to fulfil their caring
role. This is achieved through:
- free educational,
recreational and therapeutic courses.
- social events.
- open days.
- an advice
and information service.
- weekly drop in support sessions.
The services
offered address the needs of carers carer in a holistic manner by
providing short breaks away from caring responsibilities, peer support,
emotional support, practical support, information, and
educational &
learning opportunities.
The purpose of these courses and events is to give carers the chance to
remove themselves from their caring role for a few hours and
simultaneously develop their individual skills and interests. They are
provided at venues across Edinburgh.
To download the Ca(I)re information leaflet click here
(pdf file) or contact us
and we will post one to you.
Our Aims
- To encourage and enable carers to address their
own needs, thereby enabling carers to carry on caring.
- To develop and strengthen Ca(I)re Project as a
carer led service and to involve carers in the work of the project.
- To provide flexible support to meet the needs
of individual carers of all ages and regardless of their caring
situation, which will also indirectly benefit the people for whom they
care.
- To develop and maintain a comprehensive
resource of carer related information at premises for carers to access.
How Our Work Helps Carers
Ongoing evaluation has shown that carers who take part in the
programme experience a
marked improvement in their confidence and self esteem. Many carers
have felt motivated to continue their learning beyond our courses and
we have supported them into
further education, training, employment or simply to continue the joy
of learning for its own sake. Many carers have
discovered new interests, taken up volunteering opportunities and
become active members of the community. Carers who
were at risk of mental ill health often found new energy and focus for
their lives through the learning process that they committed to,
sometimes in extreme personal circumstances. Due to the confidence
building and empowering that the services have offered, some carers
have described the programme as a ‘life line’.
As well as being recognised as a valuable service by
carers themselves, the project has gained national recognition as a
model of good practice by HMIe following its inspection of the
Boroughmuir Learning Community in Edinburgh. You can access this report
by clicking here.
Charges
All our services are free and open to all carers and former carers
living in Edinburgh.
Courses for Carers in Edinburgh
 Our
programme of courses have multiple themes (educational,
recreational and therapeutic), addressing the different needs of carers
in different caring situations, are organised flexibly to suit needs
and views of carers, are run at different days and times and held at
various locations throughout the City of Edinburgh. These courses help
carers by providing:
- Short breaks from caring.
- Health Promotion – addressing the physical and
mental health wellbeing.
- Emotional Support – with access to professional
counselling through our working relationship with PF Counselling when
required.
- Peer Support – Many carers tell us that they
have made new friends through being on Ca(I)re courses
- Advice and Information.
- Confidence building.
- Access to other courses and qualifications.
- Improvement on employment practices.
You can click on the links
below to view leaflets of past and present courses in PDF format.
Support Groups
- Former
Carers Support Group – This informal,
friendly self-led group enjoy meals out, visits to cinemas, theatres,
gardens, museums, castles and much more.
- Ca(I)re
Book Club – formed as a result of
participants on the Scottish Literature course wishing to continue to
meet as a group after the course had ended meets once a month at the
Edinburgh Central Library and enjoy discussing their readings and
writings with a facilitator from the Library.
- Male
Cares Support Group – Meets once a month
in the evenings at the Eric Liddell Centre.
We are also in the process of setting up a Gardening Club and
Parent Carers Support Group.
If you would like join or help us with any of these groups, or simply
to find out more, please contact
us.
Weekly Drop In
An informal get together for carers and former carers every Tuesday
lunchtime between 12.00 noon and 2.00pm at the Eric Liddell Centre.
This is an opportunity to take a break and relax, meet other carers
and to make new friends.
Information and Advice
Over the years and through its links with other organisations in
Edinburgh, the Ca(I)re Programme has built a comprehensive information
resource and
can provide information and refer carers to other sources of support.
Open Days
Two open days are held every year to provide carers with taster
sessions and for carers from all parts of Edinburgh to come
together
and take part in a variety of learning activities.
Photo Archive and Quotes
Click
Here to view our photo archive and read some quotes from
carers who have been on our programme.
Background
The Ca(I)re Programme was formed as a result of a joint initiative of
the
Eric Liddell Centre, VOCAL (Voice of Carers across Lothian), Lothian
Health Board, the Community Education Department, the City of Edinburgh
Council Social Work
Department, the Pastoral Foundation and carers themselves. A working
group
representing these agencies, carers and a local councillor devised a
pilot project to ascertain the demand for courses which address the
educational, recreational and therapeutic needs of carers as opposed to
the needs (direct or indirect) of those for whom they care.
In 1996, a questionnaire was sent out to carers in South Edinburgh via
the VOCAL mailing list which gave carers an opportunity to indicate
whether there was a need for some of the courses suggested and to
suggest additional courses. The questionnaire also gave carers the
opportunity to indicate the most suitable time for them to attend
courses. A pilot scheme was developed from the responses to the
questionnaire which ran during 1997. Evaluation of the pilot scheme was
extremely positive and carers appreciated the fact that the courses
were designed with themselves as the central focus and not people they
were caring for.
The Programme is now an established part of a wide ranging community
and
care programme provided by the Eric Liddell Centre in Edinburgh. These
include supporting people with dementia, frail elderly people and young
people, and providing quality community facilities for the local
population as well as project accommodation for other charities. The
Eric Liddell Centre has a long history of providing services
to excluded groups and is a registered charity.
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