Citizens Advice Darlington - Help and support for carers

You can get help and support if you're responsible for looking after someone who has a disability, is getting old or has become ill. This can range from practical help to make day-to-day life easier to benefits like Carer's Allowance.

Citizens Advice Darlington have lots of ways in which they can help you care more effectively and reduce the stress of your job.

Ways Citizens Advice can help

Practical help for carers - Your local council might be able to arrange practical help to allow you to care more effectively and reduce your stress. This could include things like arranging for someone to step in for a while to give you a break or providing some extra support for the person you care for, to give you more time for your other responsibilities.

To see if you can get practical help, you'll need the council to carry out a carer's assessment. All carers are entitled to this

Help with money - You may be able to get help to increase your income if your caring duties are affecting your finances.

Depending on your income, assets and living arrangements, you might be able to: 

• apply for Carer’s Allowance and other benefits

• get help with paying for prescriptions and other healthcare costs from the NHS low income scheme
• cut down your household costs, including gas and electricity bills, a free or discounted TV licence from TV Licensing or council tax discounts
• have your contributions towards your state pension covered by the government if you've given up or cut down paid work to care for someone - Carers UK has advice to help you protect your pension
• get a grant or other financial help from a local charity or trust - Turn2Us has details of charities that might be able to help you 

You can get free and impartial help to sort out your finances if you're worried about having enough money to live on and meet your existing commitments. This could include better budgeting, learning how to make your money go further and dealing with debt problems.

Don't forget, due to Coronavirus you can also get extra help if you're a carer.