Gateshead Carers WON the North East Equality Award for small to medium sized organisations at the North East Equality Awards 2017 ceremony held at the Hilton Gateshead on Thursday 19^th October 2017.

The charity, which is celebrating its 21^st Anniversary this year, was up against some stiff competition in the Small to Medium Sized Organisations category, making the win even more prestigious; FACT , Paul J Watson, 2 Way Tenancy Solutions, Hart Gables, Skills4Work (Gateshead) Ltd, The Twisting Ducks Theatre Company and DISC. 

Steve Cowen, CEO of Gateshead Carers, said: “We are delighted to have been recognised for our equality and diversity demonstrated within our local community. We are committed to turning policy into action and are a charity which aims to make a significant positive difference in the lives of adult carers by efficiently and effectively providing the highest quality personalised, asset / strength based carer support in Gateshead.  This is a fantastic achievement.”

A Carer is anyone who cares unpaid for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support. Carers come from all walks of life, all cultures and can be of any age. Many feel they are just doing what anyone else would do in the same situation; looking after their mother, son or best friend and just getting on with it, but without the right support carers may find their own health and wellbeing suffers in the process.

Across the UK it is estimated that 7 Million people provide unpaid care to someone and while the majority accept their caring responsibilities, without the right support the personal cost of caring can be high. There are estimated to be 22,000 carers in Gateshead alone.

At Gateshead Carers, their commitment to equality and diversity is embedded in their approach to engaging with all unpaid adult carers in Gateshead.  Their website is now instantly translatable into over 100 languages with 30 of those languages being available in audio.  This has helped to establish regular carer support groups for Muslim Men, Muslim women, Chinese, Czech/Roma, Polish, Asylum Seekers and Refugees.  They work with carers of 18 different languages and have recently established an Eritrean support group.

This award is the latest of a series of awards and recognitions achieved by Gateshead Carers over the last 18 months: • NE Equality Award • Better Health at Work Gold Award • Centre of Excellence Award for Carer’s Services • Good and Efficient Charity – Endorsement by the Charity Commission • PQASSO Quality Mark Award at Level 2

Steve added: “As CEO I am proud to be part of this organisation, proud of the work we do to support carers and proud of the work every member of my team has done to get us to where we are”.