Finalist category: Community Impact Award
#T4GCarersLink
Finalist, 2015
Carers Link is a local voluntary organisation in East Dunbartonshire for family carers, providing information, advocacy, emotional support (both one-to-one and in groups) and training for adults who care for or support a family member or friend due to illness, disability (learning, physical, sensory or mental health), elderly frailty or addictions. They provide a wide range of courses and activities, run by 14 members of staff and 80+ volunteer, providing carers with access to information online, helping them manage their caring role, learn more about the person they care for and their rights as a carer.
Since the learning hub was launched less than 12 months ago, more than 75 carers have been trained to use digital technology, giving them the skills and knowledge to feel confident in their role as carer. It has connected carers and facilitated better communication between a carer and the person they are caring for. Like Shona, whose daughter has Asperger’s, Post-Traumatic Stress and bulimia. As a result her daughter finds it difficult to communicate face-to-face, but is able to communicate with her Mum through email and WhatsApp.
The project is funded until March 2016 by the Alliance Impact Find, with potential sources of funding waiting to be found. The continuation of the project would mean the development of additional online training webcasts, ensuring Carers Link can continue to support the 1 in 8 people in East Dunbartonshire who care for someone else to have the best possible quality of life.
To vote for Carers Link in this year’s People’s Award category, visit our Vote Now page, follow @Tech4GoodAwards on Twitter and tweet using the hashtag #T4GCarersLink.
