Time 4 You
Since April 2024 support for carers in Essex is now being commissioned differently by Essex County Council.
Moving forward, the opportunity to access a Time 4 You wellbeing grant will be incorporated into our wider support offer. This reduces the number of organisations you have to engage with and ensures we can provide you with a more comprehensive support offer.
Essex Carers Support are now working in partnership with Action for Family Carers to deliver a wider support offer for carers who live in North Essex (Colchester & Tendring Districts) and West Essex (Epping Harlow & Uttlesford Districts).
If you are able to, the best way to access this new service is to complete the online referral form on our website; here, you can tell us a bit about yourself and your caring role. Then, one of our team will get in touch to talk to you about the ways we may be able to support you.
Important message for carers living in Mid and South Essex:
Please note that for carers living in Mid and South Essex (Braintree, Maldon, Chelmsford, Brentwood, Basildon, Castlepoint and Rochford Districts), carer support, including carer grants, will be provided by Carers First.
About Time 4 You
It's so important that people are able to achieve a break from their caring role and have something nice to look forward to.
Our Time 4 You wellbeing grants focus on helping Adult Carers (18+) to achieve a truly personalised one-off break that has a real and genuine impact on their sense of well-being.
One-off Time 4 You grants enable Carers to do something of their own choosing, aligned to their individual interests, hobbies and aspirations. Carers are asked to share with us the positive impact that their Time 4 You break has had on their well-being.
Time 4 You breaks focus on a break from the pressures of the caring role and do not always have to mean a break from the person you care for. Lots of Time 4 You breaks are taken together so that people have something to look forward to and talk about afterwards with the person they care for.
These are just examples… the choice is yours; we are very open to new ideas. The more creative and effective the better!
Why not take a look below to find out what other Carers did to create some time for themselves in their caring role.
Phillip
Up in the Air!
Phillip, who is a carer for his wife had booked a flying lesson through Time4You at the beginning of the year. With poor weather and then Covid it kept getting cancelled – in October he finally took to the skies. His feedback was great – a truly exhilarating experience – he said it was like having a weeks holiday in an afternoon! He has now got the bug and is planning on having more lessons!
Angela
Nails and Hair
Angela, a carer her husband Jeff who has MS, enjoyed a whole afternoon at the salon with her Time4You award. She booked in with a friend so that they could catch up as the salon staff worked their magic and they left looking pampered and glamorous. Having done it once, Angela and her friend make sure that they book all their appointments together to make sure that they have that time set aside and Angela puts a regular break in her diary.
Jenny
Life in a 'She Shed'
Jenny wasn’t sure at the outset how Time4You could support her. After having a chat about it she decided to renovate an old summerhouse in her garden and create some space for herself. Time4You provided the ‘icing on the cake’ - a digital radio so that she could enjoy her favourite radio programmes in the quiet of a space just for her.
Jenny wrote us a blog about her experience using Time4You here
Ben
Connected via his Kindle
Ben had booked some time away but when Covid meant that he would have to postpone or possibly cancel his travel plans he decided to use Time4You to get himself a kindle so that he would be able to access not just the eBooks that are available to download but also be able to use it to access online Carer forums in the evenings. In this way Ben was able to not only take some time out for himself but was also able to reach out to other carers who were in a similar position to him.
James
Gone fishing...
After caring for his wife Janet for many years without a break James craved some quiet time on his own by the riverbank to relax and gather his thoughts. However, he found that some of his fishing equipment had perished as they lay unused in the garage. His Time4You award was used to get him back to fishing with some replacement equipment.
Carina
Coffee with Friends
When Carina had moved closer to be nearer to her Mum as she was needing more care and support she lost touch with some of the people she used to enjoy spending time with. Carina used her Time4You award to reconnect with some old friends, it paid for her petrol money and covered the cost of her coffee!
Davina
Messing around on the water
Going on boating holidays on narrowboats was something that Davina and Paul used to do together a lot but as Paul’s mobility decreased it became too difficult. Davina used her Time4You award to enable she and Paul to spend some time together cruising on a specially adapted canal boat to relive old times and have something to talk about together when they got home.
Vicky
Reflexology and Relaxation
Vicky treated herself to a course of relaxing reflexology with her Time4You award which she believes has helped her to unwind and continue with her caring role for her sister who has a profound learning disability and other impairments. Vicky is now studying reflexology as she has found it to be so beneficial, a break from her everyday life and she hopes that her sister will soon be one of her first clients.
Barbara
Raised Garden Planters
Barbara and Jim had always enjoyed spending time in the garden together but when Jim’s dementia become more advanced, he became a bit unsteady on his feet. Barbara's knees weren’t what they used to be either. Barbara used Time4You towards the purchase of a raised garden planter so that they could continue this activity together. They could have something to fill their days and something in common to talk about and plan for in the evenings as they always had done as a couple.
Bruce
Chair Massager
Bruce found it really difficult to relax – even when his wife Moira was taken out for a walk to the shops as part of his respite care package. He used his Time4You award to buy a chair massager so that when he managed to get this time for himself he could relax and enjoy having the stress massaged away.
Jacinta
Reconnecting with family
Jacinta used her Time4You award to help her to afford the cost of going to visit her family in the north of England for a family gathering. Not only did Jacinta enjoy the time catching up with relatives that she hadn’t seen for such a long time, her family became aware of the impact of her husbands disability on her and between them offered ongoing support for her.
Alex
Solo Spa Day
Alex decided to use her Time4You to have a spa day She told us all she wanted was “Just one day, just for me. A chance to do nothing at all except swim a few lengths, sit in the sauna and then lay and read my book without any distractions - bliss”
Sharon
Keep Dancing!
Sharon used her Time4You award to get back into her dancing. She told us, “I used to love dancing but what with caring for Gordon and one thing and another…" Sharon started with a local adult Tap class she told us afterwards “It’s an absolute treat, then when I get home I can practice my steps for next week!”
Maureen
Garden Seating
Maureen used her Time4You award to create a secluded seating area in the garden – somewhere she could escape to for a cuppa and a few minutes to herself.
This could be you!
Enjoying a break from caring...
If you have a good idea about how you'd like to carve out some time for yourself why not get in touch and we'll see what we can do to help - and even contribute towards the cost!