Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Henry]

Thanks for the opportunity to get involved, I have to sign out now but look forward to reading the rest of this conversation.  Thank you!

[NikNik]

Great to have you involved @Henry !

[NikNik]

I'm really keen to hear from you guys about our forum name - "Carers Forum"

If people that we define as 'carers' potentially don't like the label carers, how else could we refer to this group?

[Mazarita]

As someone with mental illness, I admire the sensitive way this is being discussed. I'm not personally a fan of the term carer. I don't have a preference for other terms. I prefer to call my long time friend and flatmate 'companion'. He does care for me too in material ways (eg. doing shopping and cooking). But I am improving over time slowly and now take on more of our shared domestic tasks than previously, when I was more acutely ill. In most othr ways we are independent, including financially. Each situation seems unique.

[Adge]

My family refers to my brother's carers as carers.

He is blind & intellectually disabled (from birth).

Mum referred to herself as Dad's Carer, but mainly for government purposes (I think). Although that may have also been how she saw her role.

They did not live together, they were separated for 8 years before Dad died.

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[Adge]

Has everyone disappeared?

[NikNik]

That's what I was wondering too @Adge
🙂
My question was around the name of these forums as a 'carers' forum.
A few ppl here tonight said they used that term when communicating with people in the MH system, so I was just curious as to what ppl thought of this community being labelled the 'carers forum'
Do you have any thoughts?

[Smc]

Hi Peoples.

I've got a few thoughts.

When I first applied for Centrelink Carer's $$$, I commented to my doctor that I felt odd about getting money for it, but she was very emphatic that I was "worth" the money, because otherwise they would need to pay professionals to do the same job. Said professionals wouldn't be on call at odd times either. So what we're doing, by any name, is irreplaceable.

I'm now not "officially" a carer, because my parents are in aged care, and our daughter is living with her brother- supposedly independently, but in reality she gets a lot of help and support from him and from my hubby and I. She's found it confronting having to realise how much support she's getting from others. Needing a carer has an implication of lost freedom, and I think that's why it's not a popular term, even though it's an accurate one.

Not having the title does possibly make things harder. I'm not automatically pointed in the direction of carer support systems, although they'd probably welcome me in if I asked. I don't meet the eligibility requirements for the Carer Card, and the travel vouchers I used to get through that were helpful for, guess what, caring... (My parents live 400 kms away and even though they get their day to day needs looked after in the aged care home, I'm the one doing most of the house sorting so it can be sold, the financial management, and it's often me having to deal with social and medical issues that come up.)

[Determined]

still here @Adge

Kiddies bed time so in the middle of sorting that out.

[Adge]

Well, I think whatever term people are most comfortable with is best @NikNik

I'm not sure what that term is.

I prefer the term Carer (over Support Worker), because I think it describes better what people are doing (or their role).

If it's a personal relationship, then I can understand why people would prefer "Husband", "Wife" etc - because that describes best how they see their relationship.

I cannot think of any better titles to suggest for the forum, perhaps others can...

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