Carers

VOCAL’s FSDA team supports carers, friends and family members of anyone who uses drugs or alcohol. You can access one-to-one or group support, helping you to: Understand substance use and recovery, Talk about your concerns in a neutral and safe space, Discuss how the situation is affecting you and others, Identify positive ways of coping with someone else’s drug or alcohol use, Find out what community support is available for the person you care for.

The Scottish Government has negotiated access to Solihull Online. These are courses which help nurture a a caring and supportive relationship by carers and help understanding of the stages of a child's development from pregnancy through to 19 years through interactive activities. Courses available are; Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby, understanding your baby, understanding your child. understanding your teenager's brain. To access these for for FREE use the code TARTAN.

If you have a long term health condition, making a future care plan can help you get back in control over what's important to you. Future care planning means that health and care practitioners work with people and their carers to ensure that the right thing is done at the right time by the right person.

If you are over 60 or have a disability, you could be eligible for free bus travel to get around Scotland and your local area. You can access this via the National Entitlement Card, your pass to free bus travel in Scotland.

Our vision is for a Scotland where everyone who receives support or provides unpaid care can live a full and satisfying life, with the assistance they need to take regular, quality breaks from the everyday demands of their caring routines. In Scotland there are over 650,000 people who care for a family member, partner or friend, who may be ill, disabled, or dependent on drugs or alcohol. Short breaks provide a much needed release from the physical and emotional demands of the care.

The Coalition of Carers in Scotland exists to advance the voice of carers by facilitating carer engagement and bringing carers and local carer organisations together with decision makers at a national and local level.

We're here to help carers and professionals, with expert advice on issues such as carers' benefits, community care and services for carers Looking after someone can be complicated. Our leaflets, booklets and newsletters give you accurate and up-to-date information so you know exactly where you stand.

If you look after someone, need care yourself or are planning your future care needs, you can get the information and advice you need here.

Caring will affect us all at some point in our lives. We’ll be here for you when that happens. With your help, we can be there for the 6,000 people who start looking after someone each day.