Well, we're off the mark and properly launched!
I was delighted that the first people to walk through the door were people I do not know. This might seem a strange thing to say but it meant that the people who came did so in response to my publicity rather than people who I'd been talking to. They came as well!
After coffee and chat, we had a useful discussion to decide what we wanted to get out of the group. We all have different kinds of caring responsibilities and care for people with a wide range of disabilities and problems.
One person talked about the situation we all face when we find ourselves in a situation which we don't know how to deal with. How useful it would be to be able to ring another carer with experience of this situation and say "How do you deal with it?" To help with this, we have decided to set up a 'telephone buddy' network so that we can do just this, or perhaps just use it to let off steam.
We also talked about the need for information. The Carers UK booklet, "Looking after someone" was available, along with a booklet of tips and strategies for the welfare of carers, produced by Carewell.
It was decided that we would meet once a month, on the fourth Friday, between 10.30 and 12 noon.  The next meeting will be Friday 25th January - no meeting in December. We hope to have a speaker for this occasion. Keep watching the blog for more information.
Finally, we also looked at the Lifebook, produced by Age UK. If you are interested in this, contact Age UK on 0845 685 1061 and quote the reference ALL721. There is a little more about the book on the Age UK website http://www.ageuk.org/lifebook .
I'll keep you posted on developments. Meanwhile, look after yourselves.

We're stepping up the publicity now in a bid to attract as many carers as possible to our meeting on Friday. I'm particularly keen to attract hidden carers; those who really don't realise they are carers because they are just naturally caring for a loved one in their family.

Just because they are doing 'what comes naturally' doesn't mean they don't have a right to a life of their own, with time for relaxation and opportunities to follow their own interests and maintain a form of paid employment.

Carers' Rights Day is all about the dissemination of information. We shall have plenty available at our first meeting, so if you are a carer, or know someone who else, please spread the word. We can put up lots of posters or hand out lots of leaflets but nothing replaces the individual, human touch in making the first approach.

Carers' Rights Day is a national awareness day, organised by the carers' charity, Carers UK.

This year, their campaign is entitled "Getting Help in Tough Times" and focusses on:

• finding financial help
• getting a helping hand
• making the most of technology

The aim is to inform carers of the rights, benefits and services they are entitled to. This includes Carers' Allowance, short breaks to recharge the batteries and technology to give them peace of mind when they are out of the house.

The Chief Executive of Carers UK said:

"Two million people take on caring responsibilities for ill and disabled loved ones each year and it often takes months or years for them to be told about the financial and practical support available to them. As a result, it is essential that carers are given the advice they need to find financial help and get a helping hand from practical services and technology available to them."

Carers UK have produced a booklet "Looking after Someone" which gives a comprehensive guide to financial and practical support available to carers. Sainsbury's have funded the provision of these booklets for those organising Carers' Rights events. The booklets will be available at the first meeting of Carers 4 Carers.

You can find out more about Carers UK and the support they provide by visiting their website: www.carersuk.org/

A week to go

It's now just  a week until we launch our new self-help group.

Did you know that there are approximately 6.4 million carers assisting sick, disabled or frailed people so that they can stay in their own homes? More than half of us will become carers at some stage during our lives.

For many of us, caring is just a part of life, looking after someone we love and probably someone who expended a lot of love and care looking after us when we were younger. It is a small wonder then, that half carers who provide substantial care actually take longer than two years to realise that they are a carer and begin to access support in some form.

This certainly happened to me. It was just a chance letter that my mother received that made me aware that there was help out there. I went along to my local Carers' Support Group (or Carers' Cafe as it was called) and the door was opened to a wealth of information that I would never have found on my own. It made a real difference.

Carers 4 Carers hits the headlines

An article about our new group appeared in the online version of the Leamington Spa Courier today. www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk/. Not long afterwards, I had a phone call from a reporter for BBC Coventry and Warwickshire. She had seen the article and wanted more information. Strange co-incidence - I had planned to contact local radio today!

In my last post I forgot to mention where we are meeting. The meeting will be held in the hall of the Methodist Church in Kineton. The address is Southam Street, Kineton CV35 0LN.

If you are reading this and you know anyone who is a caring - and chances are that you do, because there are 6.4 million of us - then do them a favour and tell them about the meeting.

Launch of new self-help carers' support group round the corner

Just ten days to go before the launch of a new self-help carer's support group for Kineton in Warwickshire, and the surrounding villages.

The first meeting of our new group is taking place on Carers' Rights Day, 30th November. We are meeting at from 10.00 a.m. with the opportunity for a cup of coffee or tea and the chance to chat and share your experiences with other carers.

At 10.45 we will have a group discussion when we will talk about the future of the new group and how the members want it see it develop. The meeting will last until 11.30 a.m.. Stay as long as you can.

If you live in or near Kineton and you care for an ill, disabled or elderly person, do try to come along and meet others in similar circumstances.