Walking campaign is stepping out to show the key role of unpaid carers

The UK has 10 million unpaid carers, whose contribution to society is frequently undervalued and overlooked. Over 129 million hours of care is provided by unpaid carers in a typical week.

An unpaid carer is anyone who cares for someone who is ill, disabled, older, has mental health concerns or is experiencing addiction and is not paid by a company or local authority to do this. Primarily, this is a family member or friend. Unpaid carers often look after someone at home, sometimes without respite, often isolated and invisible.

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Helen Love, 60, from Barnsley is one such full-time unpaid carer. She supports her 85-year-old mother Ann who has alcohol-induced dementia. Her mother needs 24-hour support and Helen currently has no respite.

The former communications manager has not managed to get any help, despite trying for nearly three years. She said: “I was sent from pillar to post and it has worn me down so much that I’ve given up.

“My friends have said they would crumble in my position, but I have to keep it together as my mum has no-one else apart from me. The dementia causes her to be confused, forgetful and it’s dangerous if mum is left alone.”

Helen used to live in Kent and was involved in organising walks for carers. She enjoyed walking and meeting new people through walking groups but with both of her parents’ declining health, she had to move back to Yorkshire to help them. Her dad had cancer and she lost him in February this year.

She said: “I am of the ‘sandwich’ generation, as I also have children who need support and care. Unfortunately my marriage could not cope with the emotional and physical pressures of the situation so we are currently going through a divorce.

“Doing everything by yourself with no support is emotionally and financially draining.”

She clings to hope that she can have some respite care so that she could go ‘walk and talk’ with others in a similar position to her. “There is something special about talking to people, who are going through what you are, in the beautiful English countryside. You talk, you walk, you share, you cry and you go back feeling a little lighter and ready to get back to the caring responsibilities,” she said.

Stepping Out with Carers was founded in 2016 when a happy accident brought carers and walkers together for a one-off coastal walk between pubs in Kent. The walks have since spread in numbers, scope and areas including Greater Manchester, Doncaster and Hertfordshire.

Mick Fitzgerald, Grand National winning jockey on Rough Quest in 1996 knows first hand the role of unpaid carers after he fell from his horse in the 2008 Grand National and suffered serious injuries.

He said: “It’s not easy being a carer. My wife had to look after me and give me constant care when I had MRSA and broke my neck back in 2008. Yet unpaid carers, just regular people like you and me, step up every day to look after someone close who needs them. They are amazing, courageous people, saving the NHS a fortune, yet often feeling invisible, ignored and sadly isolated.”

Sue Mott, CEO of Stepping Out With Carers, said: "We’re really excited to launch our first ever national campaign, The Big Step Out, to celebrate the UK’s unpaid carers and those they care for.

“Anyone, anywhere can take part, as long as they send us their step count and stories. We would love our millions of unpaid carers to see how appreciated they are by the rest of society when so often they feel unseen, unheard and isolated. We’ve had such a fantastic response already from sports stars to entertainers to a multitude of grassroots community groups – and dogs – we have high hopes that the profile of unpaid carers will significantly rise."

People are being encouraged to walk, wheel, dance, skip, run, trot anytime until June 25 and send your total steps to @carersstepout on social media channels using the hashtag #STEPOUT24

More information on The Big Step Out carerssteppingout.co.uk/the-big-step-out-2024