On the radio - Gill's Blog

Trevor is an unpaid carer himself and from personal experience he knows how isolating and over-whelming this role can be. He started the Roadshow in 2013 and as Trevor says: “PerCurra has been involved from Day One”. Since that first year Trevor says he has had over 18,000 visitors to the events. Each person has their own story and the opportunity to talk and be listened to, by people who understand their situation, is valuable in itself. They also gain access to services and support they were previously unaware of. Trevor says: “The Roadshow creates conversations. That’s its speciality. A lot of people come for one thing and find out so much more about support they didn’t even know existed. There are around We are trying to fill an ‘information vacuum’.”

During the radio interview I was given the chance to explain what PerCurra does and how we support the Roadshow. We have been a stallholder at most of the events over the years and this year we also provided sponsorship. With cuts in public funding Trevor has been forced to find new ways of finding the cash to keep this much needed Roadshow rolling. He has a Crowd Funding page to raise money for next year’s events https://www.gofundme.com/f/carers-roadshow-help-me-to-help-others

At the Roadshow, as a provider of ‘care at home’ services, we explain the range of support we offer, give people an idea of the costs and advise them as to how they can start the ball rolling. Depending on an individual’s circumstances, care may be funded or they may have to pay for it themselves. We also signpost people to other services that can help them. 

People often feel daunted by the idea of paying for care services out of their own pocket but, as I explained on the radio show, just a couple of hours care support a week can have a huge impact on the quality of someone’s life. It can be the difference between them being stuck at home alone or being taken out by a carer to do something they can’t do by themselves anymore – like shopping or going to a concert. 

Talking to Christine on the show was really interesting because, probably like many of her listeners, she hadn’t appreciated the scope of what we do as a care provider. Like matching our care staff’s interests to those of our clients. I gave the example of a staff member who can knit, visiting a client who used to crochet and how they taught each other their skills. Christine was also surprised and pleased to hear that we offer free places to unpaid trainers on our training courses. It’s just one of the ways we can give back to the community. I explained about our short-term care packages too – where we take the place of a Personal Assistant (PA) or carer that someone employs when they are off sick or on holiday and when we take over from someone’s unpaid carer for a week or two to give them a much needed rest.

As a presenter Christine is committed to informing and entertaining her listeners and promoting community initiatives. Being on the show was thoroughly enjoyable.