Monthly Archives: May 2013
Carers don’t get the support they need
Pressure of caring caused former Norfolk ladies golf champion to lash out at mother
Andrew Papworth Thursday, May 16, 2013
4:53 PM
Charities have urged Norfolk’s army of unpaid carers to seek support if struggling to cope – after a court heard how a woman who had cared for her elderly mother for six years lashed out when the pressure became too much.
Julia Wilkerson putting on the fifteenth green, one hole away from the championship. Photo: Bill Smith een 11/5/01Julia Wilkerson, a former team captain of the Norfolk Ladies County Golf Association and five-time winner of the Norfolk county championships, snapped while caring for her 71-year-old mother and hit her over the head with a broom.
King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court heard that while Wilkerson and her mother, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, “clearly love each other” six years of care had caused the relationship to break down.
Furthermore, the 40-year-old, of Saddlebow Road, King’s Lynn, had fallen into a “cycle of resentment and guilt” at the feeling her life was no longer her own, the court heard.
Magistrates handed out a 12-month conditional discharge after being handed a series of letters which showed her to be a ‘very caring person’.
Today, charities for carers told how such feelings of ‘anger and resentment’ were common, but reiterated that support was out there for anyone feeling in such a way.
Maria Plumb, spokesman for Norfolk Carers Helpline, said: “There are thousands of carers nationwide and 80,000 in Norfolk and services do exist to support these carers.
Many were in tears!
Remploy factory closures: Thousands face life without work
Thousands of disabled people could face permanent joblessness as the final “sheltered” employment factories close.
“I just want to work. I’d do anything, I’d sweep the floors, I’d wash toilets out. I would do any job just to do my bit for the community.”
Simon Huntington worked for 17 years at the Remploy factory in Spennymoor near Darlington. Since the packaging and assembly plant shut in August last year, Simon has found it impossible to secure a new job.
“I’m scared I won’t get another job. I’ve applied for loads of jobs. Interviews come, interviews go and I never get anywhere further. It doesn’t matter what I do, no-one wants to employ me as they can see Remploy on my CV,” he says.
Quarter of a million children provide care for others
16 May 2013 Last updated at 10:01
Young carers: Quarter of a million children provide care for others
Young carer Kelly, 17, says people like her need more help to cope with their responsibilitiesThe Children’s Society warns that such young people could have their education and job prospects permanently damaged.
The charity says one in 12 young carers in England spends more than 15 hours a week caring for a parent or sibling, and one in 20 misses school.
New figures suggest 244,000 people under 19 are carers.
But the Children’s Society warns that number is likely to be “just the tip of the iceberg” and is calling for more government support and recognition for these young people.
