Caring is no fairytale, that’s the message that Crossroads Care has launched this week to raise awareness of family and informal carers and the work of the local charity. The campaign, based on familiar fairy tales including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Snow White, tells an alternate story we are not so familiar with. Caring scenarios common to many have been injected into the traditional stories showing the characters caring for their loved ones.
‘Aladdin cared for his mother who was very unwell. When the Lamp Genie appeared, Aladdin asked for time to be able to play with his friends. The Lamp Genie called Crossroads Care’.
The stories also depict what Crossroads Care do for local carers and those they care for as well as state some startling statistics including there are 10,000 people in the Isle of Man providing unpaid support to family, friends or neighbours and 74 per cent of carers are ‘burning out’ and need to seek immediate respite.
Crossroads Care provides respite and meaningful care to family and informal carers and people with additional care needs on the island. Crossroads currently provides over 50,000 hours of respite and 50,000 hours of meaningful care a year but with a growing elderly population demands on services will increase and the third sector will have to step up to the plate.
Whilst the campaign materials are light hearted, the underlying message is important to all of us as 3 in 5 people will become a carer at least once in our lifetime and if not you will become a cared for.
Crossroads fellow colleagues from Government Departments have backed the campaign and will be helping the charity to spread the message island wide throughout the year. Crossroads hope to roll the campaign out across the island over the next 12 months and ask the community to get on board.
Jackie Betteridge, CEO of Crossroads Care, said: “Crossroads is 25 years old next year. A campaign to give carers the voice they need has been a long time coming. Carers need to stand up and be counted as they are the backbone of our community here on the Isle of Man. Caring is a very real issue that will affect all of us at some point in our lives so we need to get behind carers, Crossroads Care as the organisation that supports them and the campaign”.
Crossroads is also promoting a video showing on Manx2.com about identifying yourself as a carer.
To read Crossroads’ alternate stories from the popular fairy tales or to see the film visit www.crossroadsiom.org.
