Give Some Time to Help Disabled Children

Caring people are urgently needed to provide regular breaks and activities for disabled children.

Hertfordshire County Council is keen to recruit Shared Carers, who regularly give up some time each year to provide fun activities or a short break to a child with learning or physical disabilities. By doing so, they also provide a much-needed break for the family.

There are currently approximately 70 disabled children benefiting from Shared Care in the county but many more could be helped if more people offered respite.

Shared Carers can choose the number of hours care they provide care. In return, they are paid generous allowances to cover expenses.

Madeleine, from Abbots Langley, has helped several children while being a Shared Carer for over seven years. She said: ‘Having a disabled child is time consuming and it can be very exhausting. Having a shared carer to come and take the pressure off, just even for a few hours every week or every month, gives them a big boost.’

Betty from Bushey has been a Shared Carer for over 15 years and loves the work she does with families of children with disabilities.

‘Shared Care to me is not just working with a named child or children that you’ve been given but supporting the whole family, allowing everyone to function and find life maybe a little bit easier and more enjoyable for all,’ she said.

‘You don’t need any Mary Poppins talent to be a Shared Carer but you do need to want to help, and it will come naturally.’

Shared carers can care for the child in their own home or at the child’s home.

One mum who has benefited from Shared Care is Agnieszka from Watford, whose son has received care from Welwyn Garden City shared carer Margaret. Agnieszka said: ‘I didn’t know what to expect in the beginning but it couldn’t have worked out better. I’m a single mum and don’t have a family around me so I think it’s very good for my son to experience being in a different home, meeting new people.’

Some of the activities current Shared Carers provide include taking the child to the park or doing a fun craft activity at home. People are also needed who can look after a child overnight or for a weekend.

Councillor Fiona Thomson, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: ‘It really is a hugely valued role and highly fulfilling. Approximately 70 disabled children in Hertfordshire are thriving from the care of a Shared Carer – but so many more could also benefit if we had more carers. You would be providing much-needed respite to both the child and the family.’

Shared care can be flexible, and applicants will have a package worked out to suit them, whether it be a few hours a week or month.

To find out more about becoming a Shared Carer, visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/sharedcare or ring 0800 917 0925.