Aster celebrates Carers Week with Dorset charity The Leonardo Trust

Local housing association Aster Group and technology enabled care provider Connected Living is marking Carer’s Week this week, 7- 13 June, by joining over 2,000 organisations to make a pledge to respect and support unpaid carers in our communities.

The team has joined up with local carer support charity The Leonardo Trust to highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.

Over 6.5 million people in the UK are carers and the Carers Week charity is calling for people to come together to help Make Caring Visible and Valued.

To mark the fantastic work carers do across Dorset, working together The Leonardo Trust and Connected living are offering free installation and financial support to pay for Connected Living services, which help people to stay independent for longer and living at home. The Leonardo Trust is an independent charity set up in 2001 to help people in Dorset who are voluntary carers for sick or disabled relatives or friends.

Donna Blanche Charity Manager said "The Leonardo Trust is delighted to be working with Connected Living to provide alarms for unpaid carers. We very much hope that this service will improve the safety and wellbeing of those they care for and give carers peace of mind".

Since the start of the pandemic, Aster’s technology enabled care provider Connected Living service has continued to visit people’s homes to fit devices like pendants, fall alarms and emergency call buttons that help people live confidently at home often alongside support from family and professional carers.

Kerry Appleton, pledging on behalf of Aster Group, said: “We pledge to treat all carers with respect and dignity and recognise the fantastic work they do everyday. We’re thrilled to be celebrating Carer’s Week because we believe that both people receiving care and those providing this vital service deserve to be treated with respect. Carers often need time and support from others themselves, due to the demands of caring for their own loved ones.

“We know that carers worry about what might happen to their loved one if they themselves were to fall ill.”

Over 180,000 calls have been made through the Connected Living monitoring centre since the start of the pandemic, with more than 9,000 made by customers specifically seeking emergency help and 3,000 ambulances were deployed.

To find out more about how to apply for Carer funding, contact The Leonardo Trust on 01202 698325

To find out more about Connected Living call 0333 400 8299 or visit www.aster.co.uk/connected-living.