As part of our support offer to young carers in Gateshead, we can provide a Young Carer Wellbeing Fund. The Fund is intended to enhance and support Caregiver’s lives outside of their caring role, reliving stress and improving their wellbeing. Caregivers can be provided with up to £200 from the grant in 12 months.
Eligibility Criteria
All registered caregivers must meet the following eligibility criteria in order to apply for the Young Carer Wellbeing Fund:
- You are an unpaid caregiver aged 25 and under.
- The person you care for lives in the borough of Gateshead.
- You have not received a Carer Wellbeing Fund grant in the last 12 months.
- You are actively engaging with support from our young carers team.
- Only one young caregiver can apply for caring for one dependent. (I.e. if the sister and brother of a father with disabilities want to apply, only one of the children can apply for the grant, the other will be rejected).
How do I access the Carer Wellbeing Fund?
The Carer Wellbeing Fund is one part of our caregiver support – as such anyone who wishes to access the Wellbeing Fund must first be registered with us and be receiving caregiver support.
What can the Fund cover?
- Contribution to a short break or holiday, such as a hotel room and/or travel to a break
- Complementary/alternative/holistic therapies
- Spa Days
- Cookery Classes
- Arts and craft sessions
- Gym or leisure memberships
- Theatre trips, cinema trips or passes
- Driving Lessons
- A laptop/tablet/mobile phone
- Bedroom makeover
What can’t the Fund cover?
- To buy tobacco, alcohol or other drug.
- To pay off debt.
- To gamble, including Bingo.
- To pay for household bills such as rent, gas, electricity, internet or TV packages.
- To pay for petrol/travel that are not part of a holiday/break.
- To pay for residential care in a care home.
- To pay for ordinary costs of daily living, i.e. food shopping, hairdressing, clothes, etc.
- To pay for the person you are caring for or any other person to accompany you on a break/holiday.
- To pay for anything you have already done, bought, rented or paid for.
- To pay for anything that should be provided for by Gateshead Council or the NHS.
- Cosmetic procedures i.e. tattoo, piercing, hair extensions or nail enhancements.
- To do anything which is against the law.
- Breaks or services that can access for free within the caregiver’s locality.
- General spending money.
- Vouchers that can be used on general goods, such as supermarkets, garden centres etc. Please note, activity vouchers are acceptable such as for the cinema.
- Purchases from any business that are not NMRC registered businesses or from social media advertisements i.e. Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree.