Talking with others is a fundamental part of our lives, yet being a Carer can be very isolating as you may feel you don’t want to burden your family and friends with your day-to-day experiences. Sharing your thoughts with a trusted friend or family member can help a great deal, but there may be times when you would find it more helpful or appropriate to talk to someone outwith your family who will listen without judging.

Carers Link can provide one to one support, either with a member of our staff peer support team or with a trained Volunteer. Carers Link Volunteers currently support over 300 Carers through Carers Call, our dedicated telephone support line, whereby each Carer receiving this type of support is contacted regularly by a Volunteer for a chat about how things are going.

Many Carers experience times when they are particularly stressed, and again we have trained Volunteers who can meet up with you for coffee to discuss anything from your caring role to life in general, perhaps as time out from caring. You can choose whether you would like to meet up at our offices in Milngavie, or perhaps at a local café – whichever suits best. Each coffee support meeting normally lasts about an hour, and the aim of this service is to provide more intense, short-term support to Carers who are experiencing times of particular difficulty.

We also have a great team of Volunteers who regularly meet up with Carers for coffee, shopping, pursuing hobbies etc. Very often Carers feel isolated either because their caring role leaves them little time or energy to pursue their own interests, or because they live in a rural location and have no easy access to transport. A Volunteer can help to alleviate this feeling of isolation, and meeting with the same person on a regular basis who understands the stresses of caring can be very beneficial.