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Crossroads Care Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
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Crossroads Care Gloucestershire marks 'Carers Rights Day' with a new Day Club launch
Churchdown
Venue: GL3 Community Hub, Churchdown
Crossroads Care Gloucestershire has expanded its vital Day Club services to specifically support carers in and around the Greater Cheltenham area.
The charity, which has supported unpaid family carers and the people they care for across Gloucestershire for 42 years, has opened a brand new Azalea Day Club in the village of Churchdown between Cheltenham and Gloucester.
Located at GL3 Community Hub, the Day Club offers a warm, safe, and secure environment for people with any kind of care need. The venue has full disabled access and facilities and a fully functional kitchen where a fresh homecooked meal is prepared for every guest.
The Churchdown Day Club operates every Monday from 10am-3pm and discreet transport to and from the Club can also be organised for guests. Accommodating up to 20 people at each club, Crossroads Care Gloucestershire staff oversee a range of activities from quizzes and games to arts and craft sessions, and welcome various guest speakers and music therapists from local Tewkesbury charity, Mindsong.
Churchdown is now the fourth Crossroads Care Gloucestershire Day Club to operate in the county, joining Daglingworth, St Oswalds, and Lydney, with all four combined providing 120 places each week to support people with all types of care needs and health conditions. Staff are fully trained to support people with everything from personal care to mobility issues and long-term conditions.
Claire Smeeth, Service Development Lead at Crossroads Care Gloucestershire, said: “We set ourselves a challenge of opening as many Day Clubs as possible around the county as we know there’s a huge, and growing, demand. People really need them. A lady whose husband comes to one of our Clubs every week told us it keeps her going just knowing she’s got a day to herself to look forward to. She knows he’s safe and happy with us and is tired and more settled when he gets home. And we know these group-based services are immensely important to carers. They need a break.”
Crossroads Care Gloucestershire actively encourages people to arrange a complimentary visit to one of the Day Clubs with their loved ones to get a feel for what goes on. Speaking about his son, Craig’s father said: “The Day Club has been a great support not just for Craig, but his family too. He looks forward to his days at the Club, and it’s so nice to see him being himself again.”
Claire continued: “Personally the Day Clubs are a joy to go to. There’s always lots of laughter and it’s very special to see everyone enjoying themselves and hearing how much they’ve loved the day. Everyone gets involved and everyone has their say of what they want to do while they’re with us. We don’t like to make decisions for people. They’re all adults and are all treated with the utmost respect. Just sending them home with full bellies, feeling comfortable, relaxed and smiling. That’s our aim. And of course being able to give unpaid carers a little time back to themselves to meet friends, go shopping, get some exercise, or even just relax with a book, is absolutely crucial to their health and wellbeing. The Day Clubs are special in the way they support both the person with care needs and the carer. Connections and friendships are made with others, helping to reduce feelings of isolation.”
It is estimated that there are now around 5.7 million unpaid carers in the UK or 9% of the UK population, and the value of unpaid carers in the UK is in excess of £162bn a year - the equivalent to a second NHS.* In Gloucestershire alone, there are 52,000 carers with 19% providing 50 or more hours of care per week.
Crossroads Care Gloucestershire supports unpaid family carers and the people they care for across Gloucestershire and holds an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
To find out more about the new Churchdown Day Club or any of Crossroads Care Gloucestershire’s range of services, visit www.crossroadscareglos.org.uk or call 01452 302542.
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