Caregivers can often focus solely on the person they care for and dedicate all their time and energy to them. We believe that carers deserve to enjoy the time they have for themselves. We offer a grant of up to £200 to help carers maintain and improve their own health and wellbeing.

What sort of things can I apply for?

A grant from the Carer Wellbeing Fund can be used for something that clearly gives you a break, supports you in your caring role, and/or maintains or improves your own health and wellbeing. Our eligibility criteria provide examples of things you can apply for and a list of things you cannot apply for.

Eligibility and Guidelines

You will need to check if you are eligible to apply by carefully reading through our eligibility criteria.

The fund is discretionary. This means that there is limited money available, so not all applications will be successful.

Under our contract, we have to give priority to applications from carers who;

• Have not accessed a break from their caring role through the old Take a Break service in the last 12 months.
• Are providing care for at least 15 hours per week.
• The cared-for person must be ordinarily resident in Gateshead.
• All applicants to the fund must initially go through our information / initial assessment line to have their needs for a break assessed by one of our Carer Wellbeing Facilitators. This will also be an opportunity for people to discuss any other challenges they face as a carer.

Please note, that the Fund cannot be used to pay for purchases that have already been made - eligible items must be purchased after the funds are in the carer's bank account.

Once the funds are in the carer's bank account, the carer has 3 months (commencing on the day of payment) to send us the receipts of any purchases made.

How to apply 

To apply for funding, a carer should contact us by phone or email for an initial information-gathering conversation with one of our Carer Wellbeing Facilitators. If the carer meets the eligibility criteria, there will be further discussion of the impact the caring role is having on their wellbeing, which can support the carer's application to the Carer Wellbeing Fund and identify any further support which can be offered. Applications go to an assessment panel on the first Thursday of each month.

Read our Eligibility Criteria

Read our Guidance Notes

The use of the grant was really easy. I can speak for both my husband and myself when I say the application process was very straightforward; we were kept informed, and once the application had been approved, the grant arrived very quickly. Through the fund, we have been able to buy two paddleboards, and we have booked a holiday next year with the children in a location where we can use them without having to drive anywhere. We will be taking carers with us, which gives us time to get out and use the boards together, so thank you very much to Gateshead Carers for making this possible.

To find out more, please email [email protected] or contact us.

Download our leaflet