Carers Week: 9-15 June 2025
Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. It also helps people who don't think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support.
The campaign is brought to life by thousands of individuals and organisations who come together to provide support for carers, run activities, highlight the vital role carers play in our communities and draw attention to just how important caring is.
This year the theme is 'Caring About Equality' highlighting the inequalities faced by unpaid carers, including a greater risk of poverty, social isolation, poor mental and physical health. Far too often, carers of all-ages miss out on opportunities in their education, careers, or personal lives, just because of their caring role. Get involved in Carers Week 2025, and together let’s work towards an equal society, where carers are truly valued, recognised and supported.
Thank You
This campaign period is now over, we would like to thank everybody who got behind the 2025 Carers Week campaign in the South Tees. This short video shows some of the amazing individuals and organisations who supported the campaign.
South Tees Campaign: Pledge Your Support
This year we wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get involved and support the South Tees campaign. We’ve suggested six simple pledges — each with a clear action you can take. Take a look at our Carers Week Pledge page and commit your support.
Make your pledge, take action, and together we’ll make a difference.
Timetable of Activities
Download the pdf below to connect directly to organisations in person and online
Raising Awareness of Unpaid Care
Throughout the year we strive to raise awareness of unpaid care to encourage more family and friends to recognise their caring role so they can implement carers rights and access support if needed. Campaigns help us to amplify this by encouraging more people to get behind this messaging.
In the lead up to Carers Week 2025, Project Lead, Kelly Hodgson, joined Primary Care Coordinator, Susan Lee, on Gary Philipson's BBC Radio Tees show to talk about unpaid care, share useful information and encourage as many people across the South Tees to get behind this years campaign. You can listen back to the show here.
Local Carers Stories
Jan Featonby who cared for her husband Jim for 6 years after he had a stroke.
Jim sadly passed away in 2017, but Jan is passionate about sharing her story to help others in similar situations.
Her message is clear: You can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself.
Read Jan's story
Sarah, a single mum of three, whose youngest child is 8 years old and lives with autism, ADHD (AuDHD), sensory processing disorder, and chronic constipation.
Sarah’s story is one of love, strength, and unwavering commitment. It also shows how important it is that carers have the right support around them, at work, in their communities, and from local services.
Read Sarah's story
New Report
The Caring About Equality report published on the first day of Carers Week, delves deeper into the impacts of caring for current and former carers and explores the disadvantages that carers feel they face relative to people without caring experience.
The report looks specifically at key health and wellbeing issues, finding that:
- 43% of current or former carers – an estimated 10.7 million people – have seen a mental or physical health condition develop or become worse since taking on a caring responsibility for someone. This figure is higher again for current carers at 48%.
- Over half (58%) of current and former carers feel they are at a disadvantage as they are not able to look after their own physical or mental health in the same way as those without caring responsibilities.
- 39% of current and former carers who had a health condition develop or become worse said that being able to take regular breaks from caring would have helped prevent this.
- 40% of current carers said they had postponed or cancelled a medical appointment, test, scan, treatment, or therapy because of caring, with 44% of those cancelling appointments saying they couldn’t find appointments at a time they could attend.
- A higher proportion of female (both current and former) carers said they face disadvantages with their health compared with males (64% compared with 52%).
Funding for Carers Groups In Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough Council have once again launched a Carers Community Fund during Carers Week (9-15 June 2025)
This grants scheme is available to community-based groups who want to support informal carers in their area. The programme is for small grants, from £20 to £5000.
Outcomes for your project should help with one or more of the following:
- Reduce carers' social isolation and develop social networks
- Help carers, families and communities to achieve and maintain wellbeing
- Reach, connect, and support disadvantaged carers.
- Build on available community assets and resources to support carers
Successful projects will have high involvement and ownership by the carers within the community, and be driven by them.
Please read the Carers Community Fund guidance(PDF, 134 kB) before you apply.
Application Form: Voluntary And Community Sector Grants Application Form - My Middlesbrough
If you need any help please either ring Sharon on 01642 729309 or email communitygrants@middlesbrough.gov.uk
Identifying Young Carers in Local Schools
Carer Friendly GP's
Newlands Medical Centre has become the first GP practice in Middlesbrough – and only the second in South Tees – to achieve Carer Friendly status, marking a significant milestone in supporting unpaid carers across the region.
The recognition of Newlands Medical Centre as a Carer Friendly practice reflects its commitment to this ethos. Suzanne Moulton, Patient Co-ordinator at the practice, emphasised the importance of valuing and supporting unpaid carers:
“We value every one of our 9,738 patients here at Newlands Practice,” Suzanne said. “The 580 unpaid carers we have are held in high esteem by us. We want to ensure that we can provide all our unpaid carers with the very best support we can – whether they’re patients or staff members. We really appreciate the many local voluntary organisations that help us do this.”
Continue reading here.
South Tees Campaign Assets
If you would like to get involved and promote this years campaign please utilise the assets we have created.
Carers Week Toolkit/ Resources