Carers Week
From 9th to 15th June, we celebrate Carers Week. This year, we’re highlighting the need for equality in support, recognition and rights for unpaid carers across Scotland.
There are around 800,000 unpaid carers in Scotland, including over 30,000 young carers. Many care for someone with a mental illness, often without enough support or even realising they are carers. Some are left out of conversations about care. Others take on huge responsibility with little time to look after their own wellbeing.
At Change Mental Health, we help carers understand their rights and recognise the value of their role. We support them to access practical help, speak up in care decisions and put their own needs on the map. Every carer deserves the same opportunities, choices and support as anyone else.
The 2025 theme, Caring About Equality, is about making sure carers are treated fairly and included across all parts of society. Unpaid carers are essential to the mental health system but are often left behind when it comes to rights, wellbeing and recognition. This Carers Week is about changing that.
Carers Scotland reports that:
- 80% of unpaid carers said the impact of caring on their physical and/or mental health will be one of the main challenges they face over the next year
- 65% of unpaid carers said they needed more support with their health and wellbeing
- Over the last 10 years, there has been a 15% increase in the number of unpaid carers providing care of 50 hours or more each week
- Over a third (36%) of responding carers reported their mental health was bad or very bad
- Many carers report feeling overwhelmed and struggling make ends meet.
In the 2022 Scotland Census, it was documented that there was a 27.5% increase in unpaid carers from the previous Census in 2011.
“There is no one way to deliver support. It is very much dependent on the situation and the carer themselves. I try very hard not to add to the overwhelming nature of the caring role, but instead aim to help demystify and support in a way that works for them.
“Our role is to help them regain their voice, to be heard and valued. They’re the person who knows the person they care about the best.
“Their opinion and their views do count. They have a right to have their views heard and they have a right to be listened to.”
You can read an insight piece from Heather Adamson our Carer Support Worker in Fife.
Visit our Help for Carers page to explore available support and read our Information for Carers booklet. If someone you care about is admitted to hospital, the Menu of Questions for Carers (created in partnership by Change Mental Health and Carers Trust Scotland) is a useful guide to help you start conversations with staff. It includes questions about diagnosis, treatment, discharge planning and your role as a carer.
We offer Carer Support in Highland, Tayside, Fife and Dumfries and Galloway. Our Carer Support Workers have expertise and a detailed understanding of the issues that affect carers and people with mental illness through one-to-one emotional support or peer support groups.
Support working carers by offering flexibility and becoming Carer Positive Employer. Being a Carer Positive Employer recognises that there are policies in place to support working carers. Creating a culture of understanding and empathy in the workplace can contribute to a more inclusive and supportive environment for employees who are also carers.
Your donation will help Change Mental Health to fulfil our vision of building a future where no one faces mental illness alone. Whatever the size, your generosity can contribute towards providing carers with safe, judgement-free spaces to talk about their needs while building supportive and understanding networks of peers.
support
If you or anyone you know requires support, our Advice and Support Service is open Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm, where advisers can signpost you to local support that fits your needs, including our Change Mental Health services. We offer initial advice on money worries and help to deal with emergencies.
Contact 0808 8010 515, email us at advice@changemh.org or fill out the enquiry form on the Advice and Support Service page.
