A project to give unpaid carers free access to sports and fitness centres is to launch later this month.
Renfrewshire Carers Centre is working in partnership with Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership and Renfrewshire Leisure to issue a carers membership that allows access to all Renfrewshire Leisure facilities free of charge.
The 16-week pilot is looking for 50 young and adult carers to take part. It will start in September and organisers are hoping to attract a range of carers including those who’ve never taken part in any Renfrewshire Leisure activities before.
Diane Goodman, manager of Renfrewshire Carers Centre, said she hoped the project would help unpaid carers who really struggled during lockdown.
She said: “During lockdown the role of the unpaid carer vastly increased as many services were unable to open to give them a break.
“Also to protect their loved one, many carers took on the full caring role themselves without a break. This has had a huge impact on carers emotionally, socially and financially.
“As we come out of lockdowns we need to start to look after our unpaid carers as the care system would collapse if they were unable to continue to care – this pilot is of benefit both physically and emotionally for carers.
“We want to give unpaid carers the opportunity to take part in leisure activities by alleviating some of the barriers they may have – this could be financially and we are pleased that we can offer this to carers for free.
“It can also be quite daunting walking into leisure centres for the first time and we want to make this as easy as possible for carers to participate therefore support can be given by leisure staff to show carers round and give encouragement.”
Everyone taking part is asked to allow their usage of the facilities to be monitored and to take part in an evaluation of the scheme.
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A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Leisure said: “We will examine the results of this initial pilot scheme involving around 50 carers to assess the best way forward in creating a Carers Passport.
“Carers are the unsung heroes in our communities and the work they do is central to the well-being of so many people. But it is also important for them to take care of themselves as well as others.
“This initiative could go some way to helping carers get a well-earned respite from their caring responsibilities.”
A spokesperson from Renfrewshire HSCP added: “Carers provide vital support for people across Renfrewshire - but for many, undertaking this role can be very challenging. This has been especially so during the pandemic.
“We hope this pilot will help us achieve some of the key aims of our Carers’ Strategy, which include identifying more unpaid carers, understanding their unique challenges, and helping them access the support they may need to maintain good health and well-being.”
Anyone interested in taking part can register their interest by emailing enquiries@renfrewshirecarers.org.uk or phone Renfrewshire Carers Centre on 0141 887 3643.
