VOLCARE - CANTERBURY

Volcare offers Carers the opportunity to have a break from their caring role by offering them flexible home based respite care. Carers are: friends or relatives who care for someone full-time, e.g. a wife caring for a disabled husband, a daughter caring for an elderly parent, or a parent caring for a disabled child. Carers can find it very difficult to get a break from caring and Volcare offers them the opportunity to take breaks/holidays. This is called respite care. Volunteers get to know Carers and their families by visiting them on a regular basis for a whole day, over a three to four week period (this can vary from family to family), before moving in and taking over the caring role completely. The full time Carer can then have a break. This can be for a whole day or overnight, a weekend, a whole week or occasionally for two weeks (this would be shared by two volunteers). The volunteer can also volunteer alongside the Carer, this is called shared care. Each volunteer may support between 12 and 20 families during their time with Volcare. This could be on a long term or short-term basis. For all breaks longer than one day, the volunteer moves in and lives with the cared for person, staying with the person overnight. Volcare help Carers caring for people with: Parkinsons Disease, Dementia, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Head Injury, Learning Disability, Autism, and many more conditions. As a full time volunteer you will be gaining new skills and experience as well as new friendships, lasting memories, a sense of achievement and ideas for your future career.