Carers NSW will celebrate National Carers Week 2021 with a range of free online events focusing on the health and wellbeing of family and friend carers across NSW.
National Carers Week runs from 10-16 October this year, with the theme of ‘Millions of Reasons to Care’ aiming to raise awareness of the significant contribution that 2.65 million carers across Australia make to society.
Carers NSW is the peak non-government organisation for carers in NSW, a member of Carers Australia and the National Carers Network. They describe their vision as ‘an Australia that values and supports all carers’.
In celebration of National Carers Week, the Department of Communities and Justice has funded over 400 Carers Week Events, with a range of local events for carer groups set to be held across New South Wales.
A calendar of Carers Week Events can be downloaded from the Carers NSW website.
A number of events have been impacted by the pandemic and communities are exploring different ways to support and recognise carers. Carers NSW will also hold a range of free wellbeing workshops and webinars for carers throughout the week. The full schedule is available online.
Challenging times
Carers NSW Chief Executive Officer, Elena Katrakis, said National Carers Week has come at an important time this year. ‘Amidst such challenging times in the community, it is clear that the need to support and recognise carers has never been greater,’ she said.
‘While celebrating the ongoing work of carers is something that should be constant, National Carers Week provides an excellent opportunity each year for the broader community to come together and show their appreciation for carers.
‘It is important that carers are not just looking after the person they care for, but for themselves as well,’ said Ms Katrakis.
‘This is why we will be running a range of free online events throughout National Carers Week that have a focus on the health and wellbeing of carers. We encourage carers to use this as an opportunity to do something for themselves and enjoy some of the activities we have on throughout the week.’
You can find more information on Carers NSW National Carers Week events here.
Caring by the numbers
Currently the demand for unpaid carers is at an all-time high and set to increase in the future. Right now, statistics show that:
- There are approximately 854,300 carers across NSW.
- It is estimated that carers in NSW provided 692 million hours of unpaid care in 2020.
- The replacement value of that care (the cost were it provided by paid care workers) is estimated at $25 billion for NSW alone.
