Charity makes use of empty hotel rooms to give carers a break

Newman, who is also a founder member of the charity, said that momentum was really beginning to pick up as more carers found out about Carefree through word of mouth.

She told the JC: “Full-time, unpaid caring is not just nine to five. It means genuinely living with the person you care for, which is a very intense responsibility that can lead to emotional and physical burnout, and that’s where the charity can help.”

To be eligible, you need to be over 18 years of age and provide more than 30 hours of unpaid care per week.

Through Carefree’s digital platform, carers can fill out information on what kind of break they’re looking for, and where and when they’d like to go.

Now working with 14 hotel groups around the country, the charity will then arrange a break for them and a companion for up to two nights, breakfast included, for a nominal cost of £33.

Many will “go to a spa, or have a swim, visit friends, catch up on reading or go on a long walk,” Newman said. “Often, simply having a meal in peace and quiet can prove rejuvenating.”

Carefree's CEO Charlotte Newman and CTO Joey Ceunen[Missing Credit]

Surveys show that carers are more than twice as likely as non-carers to experience health difficulties themselves, thought to be because they will neglect their own mental and physical health in the process of caring for others.

According to polling carried out by the charity, 87 per cent of carers say they wouldn’t have been able to take a break if it weren’t for Carefree, 68 per cent hadn’t taken a break for more than a year, and more than half reported frequently feeling “overwhelmed” by their caring responsibilities.

Rabbi Avrohom Sugarman MBE and his wife, Sarah, are two of the most recent beneficiaries of the charity.

They are the full-time carers of their 18-year-old son, who has special needs. 

He said the financial cost of caring for kids with special needs, or indeed for any carer who spent their own money or gave up paid work to care for a relative “cannot be underestimated”.

“The strain on the family’s finances, even on those of a middle-of-the-road financial status, is enormous. So, to have a charity not just encourage you to take up to two nights away but to also do so at an extremely low nominal cost, is so beneficial to parents.”

Last month, he and his wife were able to have a much-deserved getaway in Basingstoke, where they were able to unwind, go for a walk and have a meal.

Rabbi and Rebbetzin Sugarman together run the Haskel School, a school for Jewish children with special educational needs in Gateshead. Through that, they maintain a wide network of full-time carers and parents of SEND children, to whom they have recommend the charity.

Newman, who has previously worked for UK Israel Business (UKIB), said that in addition to financial exclusion, full-time carers rarely asked for external help and often refrained from booking time away for themselves out of feelings of guilt.

“Getting carers, some of whom haven’t taken a real break in years, to a place of being ready for time away can be a journey in itself,” she said. “But we’ve found that having a date appointed and a break donated changes the energy of it, making it feel special and a reward for their care work, helping to empower them to step away.”

According to Carefree, 94 per cent of carers who returned from a break with them reported that their wellbeing has improved.

With two-night breaks costing an average value of £275, the charity has so far in total leveraged £3.4million of gifted accommodation to unpaid carers, supported by a small number of grant funders, including the Pears Foundation, as well as social and ethical investments.