Carer's guide to winter support
Winter can pose additional challenges for us as carers. Whether it's becoming more challenging leave the house with the person we're caring for or the financial strain of extra heating.
Plus, managing our mental and physical health is important through those darker months.
So with the help of the Mobilise Community, this guide explores five practical ways we can prepare for and embrace winter.
Our five-part guide to supporting unpaid carers' wellbeing through winter
1. Financial support for carers through winter
On average 9,700 deaths each year believed to be caused by living in a cold house. It’s therefore essential that, if needed, we know how to find financial support to keep us and the person we care for warm through winter.
Read our article which lists three UK heating benefits we may be entitled to.
In addition to winter, there is also other financial support to help with our utility bills all throughout the year. Read our financial support for carers guide.
2. Winter wellbeing for carers
Supporting our wellbeing is important at any time of year, but winter does bring additional challenges for many of us. Putting ourselves first is never selfish, and in fact is the only way we’ll be able to keep on caring for others.
“You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
We’ve pulled together simple ways to support our wellbeing, including a daily healthy habits tracker to get us started.
3. Carers' guide to winter health and saftey
A simple guide to staying healthy, and reducing risks. From taking vitamins and getting flu jabs, through to gritting pathways - and everything in between - there are lots of things we can be doing to support ourselves as carers.
4. A carer's home during winter
There's no place like home, unless you're a carer. As much as we may love our homes, for many of us, keeping on top of the household chores can be hard. And we know that maintaining our homes during the cold, wet season can make things even trickier.
So from drying clothes to carpet cleaning, read various tips that were helpful for other carers in our community.
5. Carers' guide to getting stuff done without leaving the house
It can be trickier to get out and get jobs done in the winter, especially if you need to take your ‘cared for’ with you. The weather and the shorter days can add extra challenges to what may already be a difficult logistical situation.
And, while we would alway encourage ourselves to get outside when we can, here is our guide to making life a little easier.
Read: Carer's guide to getting stuff done without leaving the house.
