THE July meeting of the Chard Carers Support Group welcomed Julie Matthews, director of Chard Watch.

The group has now established links with Watch, who provide support for people suffering from loneliness (which can be a big issue for carers), helping people to fulfil their potential through activities and peer support.

Julie has been an unpaid carer herself, looking after family members for some years, so she was especially able to understand some of the issues that affect our members.

Watch is a Community Interest Company (CIC) and everything that they do is in the interest of the community, which again helps carers reconnect with their town and community as caring can be isolating and wearing both mentally and sometimes physically.

Watch offers many training programmes and is connected to the Open Mental Health Network in Somerset. Julie ran through some of the upcoming events that Watch is organising and left us with some information to take forward with the group, including a new venture called ‘Music for Connection’ at the Boden Centre every month.

One of our members was interviewed by BBC Radio Somerset recently about the threatened closure of Sunnymeade Care Home in Chard, then the welcome sale and decision for the home to remain open.

Before the decision to remain open, she was shocked when a relative, who had been in the home for a year, might have had to move to alternative accommodation, particularly as it had taken some time for them to settle there.

She said: ‘It was a great relief; there are other places, but they are distant and relatives can’t get to visit if they are a long way away.’ Meanwhile, Pat and Kate were invited by the new Mayor, Victoria Bates, to the ‘Mayor Making’ on Sunday 14th July and other group plans include a talk from Age UK at the August meeting, plus a cream tea at Hornsbury Mill later in August and a trip to Bicton Gardens in September.

The next meeting of the Chard Carers Support Group will be on Monday 12th August at the hall behind the English Martyrs Church at the traffic lights in Chard.

Unpaid carers are welcome for tea, cake and a lot of chat but also some signposting and advice about the things that are affecting their lives around being an unpaid carer.

If we don’t know the answer, we will be able to direct you to someone who does and we work closely with the Village Agent and Community Council for Somerset to provide support and advice.

Our group is here for support of 24/7 carers, be it partners, parents, children, family, neighbours etc.

You are very welcome to just call in on the 12th to meet us and find out what we're all about - we are there 10.30 am to 12.30 pm on the second Monday of each month.

If you would like a chat with us before a meeting, contact Pat on 01460 220026 or Kate on 01460 394331, email us at chardcarers@aol.com or find us on Facebook.

Written by Chard Carers Support Group.