Caring for another person can place many demands on you. Taking breaks and looking after your own physical and emotional health will help you to keep going in your caring role.

Anglicare's Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres (CRCCs) support carers by providing information, referrals and bookings in relation to a range of respite options.

Who can we help?

Our centres are able to assist carers living in the following regions:

• South West Sydney (Fairfield, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Camden, Wollondilly and Wingecarribee local government areas)
• Nepean (Penrith, Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains local government areas)

Assistance for carers living in other areas is available from Centres located in those areas. Call 1800 052 222 for information.

How can we help?

Our centres can assist carers requiring respite in a number of ways:

• providing information about planned, regular respite and making referrals to respite services on behalf of carers
• providing occasional or short-term respite when a carer needs a break.
• organising workshops, retreats and educational sessions for carers
• working closely with carer support groups and networking with other service providers to assist carers
• booking respite in residential aged care facilities
• working with other CRCCs to help carers outside our areas

Emergency respite

We can provide short-term respite when the carer is in crisis or if an emergency situation arises. Assistance to access emergency or crisis respite is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

How much does it cost?

While our services requests a contribution of 10% of the cost of respite, no one will be refused service if they are unable to contribute.

• Start with small breaks and build up to longer ones
• Make respite real for both you and the person you care for by taking a real break and not visiting regularly during respite
• Rememeber that it is important for your health and wellbeing to take regular breaks.

Getting out from time to time is also important. Some carers say they feel guilty when they leave the house or enjoy an activity without the person they are caring for but time for yourself is important to help you stay well. If you are finding it difficult, talk to someone who can help you.

Remember you are not alone! It’s easy to become isolated when you’re a carer and loneliness can be one of the difficulties of a caring role. It often helps to talk with others in the same situation. Our centre can link you to carer support groups in your area or provide you with other contacts who can help.