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Black & Minority Ethnic Carers' Support Service

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Welcome to BME Carers' Support Service

Black & Minority Ethnic Carers' Support Service (BMECSS) is an innovative independent community based service. We aim to provide a culturally appropriate, fully accessible service to all BME Carers' in North London irrespective of their race, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender, age and sexuality.

Our Slogan

Developing pride in caring.

Who are carers?

Carers are people who look after a relative or a friend who; because of disability, learning difficulties, ill health, mental health and substance misuse or the effects of age need help and support. They are unpaid. Carers may be husbands, wives or partners, sons and daughters or other relatives, or friends and neighbours who provide short term intensive/care support e.g. support provided by mental health carers, carers of children with disabilities, carers of people with drug or alcohol dependence, HIV/AIDS carers and sickle cell Thalassemia.

Carers may also be a child or young person helping to care for a parent or other adult with whom they live or carers may be parents bringing up a child with a disability.

Impact of caring

Caring can be rewarding and demanding at the same time. The majority of carers struggle alone and do not know that help is available to them. Often carers get on with the task of caring and ignore their own needs which can impact their lives in multiple ways

	Relationships with family or friends can suffer due to lack of quality
	Poverty as the carers tend to become less focused on career or even giving up work to care full time. Many carers also work outside the home and are trying to juggle jobs with their responsibilities as carers.
	Health problems, due to high level of mental exhaustion, stress or depression
	Feeling of isolation and unable to find support
	Feeling a loss of identity as a direct result of caring role
	Unable to take break from caring role and spending every free time on catching up with sleep. Carers say that access to information; financial support and breaks in caring are vital in helping them manage the impact of caring on their lives.