Improving local connections for carers

A SIZEABLE grant received by a local health service in partnership with other organisations is set to improve local connections and support for unpaid carers in Indigo Shire. Beechworth Health Service with Quercus Beechworth, Chiltern Neighbourhood House, Yackandandah Community Centre, Indigo Shire Council, Changing Minds Support Group and Indigo North Health recently received a $40,000 grant from Carers Victoria funded by the Victorian Government. The partnership was one of 25 groups/organisations across Victoria to receive a grant between $20,000 and $40,000. The new program aims to reduce isolation, improve health and wellbeing, and connect carers to their local communities. Carers Victoria chief executive officer Judith Abbott said grants would support carers from all walks of life from a young carer looking after a sibling, parent or grandparent, caring for a person with a disability, mental illness/issue or addiction to a person caring for a family member or loved one with a chronic illness. BHS health promotion and community engagement officer Gabriella Tange said a project officer will help co-design the project together with a partnership advisory group. “We hope to identify carers within our community who are not currently connected into existing networks,” she said. “We know there are people caring for others in the community and we want to find out who they are, understand their needs, and support and provide them with opportunities for connection with one another as well. “We want to create opportunities, so carers are not isolated and have a support network.” “It will also give us an opportunity to identify existing structures and networks across Indigo Shire.” Ms Tange said the collaborative project gave neighbourhood houses, health services and existing carer support groups that might already exist the chance to connect with each other as well. She said the project gave the partnership group a chance to have conversations about barriers such as financial ones where support can be given to carers to join in without any financial burden if a participation barrier. She said the project is also an opportunity to explore support for people in carer roles with conversations around doing things for themselves where it could be a physical activity such as a walk or another for their own mental health well-being. “It’s something we should be look at as a community and how we can support carers to do that,” she said. Ms Tange said the outcome for the six-month contract with the project officer will be design, delivery, implementation and evaluation by the end of June next year.

Improving local connections for carers

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