carers allowance

Replies

By Pysie

Re: carers allowance
Sun 7 Oct 2007 15:49

Well, it's a small step in the right direction, but not nearly far enough.

Ten years ago I had a good job, my own home and reasonable prospects. Then my caring role forced me to take a part-time job instead. This paid me £70 per week - too much then to be able to claim CA but not enough to live on. So I saw my savings whittled away.

The, like many carers - and as some people here know - I had to stop work completely in order to care for Mum full-time. No option.

I soon discovered it is not possible to live on £48 per week, so I dipped deeper into my savings for many years until they were almost all gone. Now I claim Income Support at £86.30 per week (including CA), but I have no job, no savings and no pension!

Until Gordon Brown hits the right note for carers, I won't believe anything he says or does!

By Mrs Wallace

Re: carers allowance
Fri 23 Nov 2007 21:59

Once apon a time I lived in my own house with hubby and children, worked, had holidays, could leave the heating on and eat a balanced diet.......
....17 years later had to sell house, give up holidays, debt is equal to the national one, cant leave heating on, balanced diet.. no not any more..... reason for this hubby diagnosed with MS 17 years ago.
Carers Allowance what a joke! work out what you get an hour for caring 168 hours a week its criminal.

By Tracy21

Re: carers allowance
Fri 23 Nov 2007 23:09

I class myself as a fortunate carer. Or am I?

Two years ago I had a good job, could pay my mortgage, had nights out with friends, holidays etc etc but then, in April 2005, I went to check on Mum and found she had fallen during the night and had broken her hip. Once she was discharged from hospital she came to live with me, initially until she recovered, but it soon became clear that she would never be able to live or manage on her own again and my life changed forever. I could not imagine putting her in a nursing home, especially having seen her brothers and sisters in them over the years.

My job became part time but after a year I couldn't even manage that and I am now a full time carer. My mother has Parkinson's disease and has recently been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia. I have to do absolutely everything for her, which I'm sure many of you will be familiar with.

I say I am fortunate(?) because at least my mother has money put by which I can use to keep my roof over our heads and food on our table but it sticks in my throat that I was so independent but I'm now relying on my mother's money to keep us both. The Carers Allowance is a joke at £48 a week. How do other carer's cope for God's sake? It makes me sick when people sit on the dole and get their rent paid, council tax paid etc etc and carer's do a 24/7 JOB for peanuts.

Rant over. I would just like to say that I get comfort from reading these discussion boards and it makes me feel like I am not a lone carer in this world. Love to you all.

Tracy

By morello

Re: carers allowance
Sat 24 Nov 2007 09:41

Yes it is a sad world in which we live, when a Prime Minister says he recognises what wonderful work we do and then knifes us in the back for doing it. Not exactly a man of honour and we leave our lives in his hands. No amount of nice words can give us a life where we can live and do our caring job, free from other worries. If Ministers think they have it tough they should think again, long and hard. I would like to see one enter my world for a week and cope with every aspect of what is left of my life. Maybe then they would see exactly what we have to live on and how difficult it is for us. They have it easy and they dont even know it or is it a case of not wanting to see it ?
MO