Help and advice for family carers

Advice and Information - 7 August 2025

Many people looking after family members or friends are reaching breaking point due to not getting the support or recognition they need. This article signposts you to local and national support to help you in your caring role.

What is a Carer?

A carer is someone who provides unpaid care and support to a family member or friend who has a disability, illness, mental health condition, addiction, or who needs extra help as they grow older. This does not include volunteers or people employed to provide care.

Charity Carers UK says that on average 12,000 people become an unpaid carer in the UK every day.

Caring can have a significant impact on your physical and mental health, as well as your education, work, finances, and social life.

During the pandemic, many family carers in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough faced extra pressures, coping with disruptions to the services they relied on (see our Care during Covid report).

Carers in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

According to the 2021 Census,

72,236 people in Cambridgeshire
20,728 in Peterborough
identified themselves as unpaid carers.

Many people take on multiple caring roles throughout their lives. ‘Sandwich carers’ may support both children and elderly relatives at the same time.

Carers from Black and Minority Ethnic communities are likely to be under-identified locally.

The Gypsy and Traveller community is particularly at risk of missing out on Carer’s Allowance due to barriers related to travel and disrupted access to services or equipment.

Local Services for Carers

Cambridgeshire County Council has an all-age carers service, provided by:

Caring Together – supporting adult carers
Making Space – for carers of adults with mental health needs
Centre 33 – for young carers and young adult carers under 25
Alzheimer's Society
Bridgit: Your AI Carer Support Coach – a new online platform providing advice and resources for new and existing carers

Find out more

Young Carers and Young Adult Carers

Centre 33 provides support for young carers and young adult carers under the age of 25 who live in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.
Support includes:

Young carers’ needs assessments
Information, advice and one-to-one support
Opportunities to meet other young carers
Groups in primary and secondary schools

📞 0333 4141809
✉️ youngcarers@centre33.org.uk
🌐 www.centre33.org.uk/help/caring

Caring Together also provides services for young carers, including carer breaks, a specialist carer helpline, and supports young carers to have their voices heard.

📞 0345 241 0954
✉️ hello@caringtogether.org
🌐 www.caringtogether.org/support-for-carers/young-carers

Parent Carers

Are you raising a child or young person with disabilities or additional needs?
Pinpoint, the parent carer forum for Cambridgeshire, offers:

Signposting to support
Information sessions and events
A chance to help shape local services

📞 01480 877333
✉️ information@pinpoint-cambs.org.uk
🌐 www.pinpoint-cambs.org.uk

The Cambridgeshire Local Offer has details of services and support for children and young people aged 0–25 with SEND.
🌐 Cambridgeshire Local Offer

Adult Carers

Caring Together provides:

A specialist carer services team
Carer learning sessions
Help with carer breaks
One-to-one support if caring is impacting your health and wellbeing
The ‘What If’ Emergency Planning Scheme
Family Carers Prescription – a referral service for support and planning
A quarterly magazine with advice and news

You can also access free digital support from Carers UK, including tools like the Jointly App, using the code DGTL3385 on the Carers UK website.

📞 0345 241 0954
✉️ hello@caringtogether.org
🌐 www.caringtogether.org