In this Section you will find Carer Stories and Stories about Carers and caring. Just follow the links to find all stories in this catagory.

WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES - A National Day of Action by Unpaid Family Carers held on Tuesday 13th September 2005 –  On March 28th 2005, ABC’s Four Corners broadcast “The Hidden Army”, a documentary detailing the lives of unpaid family carers in Australia.

Over 900,000 people throughout Australia viewed this program on the night and ABC research indicated that those who tuned in stayed tuned in. An online Four Corners forum was held following the broadcast and during that forum carers suggested a “day of action” by carers was needed.

It was suggested that the action day should be called Old Shoe Day with an invitation extended to Members of Parliament and policy makers to “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” in order to create awareness of the issues that confront unpaid family carers on a daily basis, and in order to initiate change. More

GCA- Breaking the Silence on unpaid Family Caring                                                               Historically families have always accepted primary responsibility to care for relatives with dependent disabilities whatever the age at onset, however this fact is often lost on the general public who see and hear the vocal minority that are the service system or governments who push particular agenda’s for political reasons.

In 2003 a Survey of Disability Ageing and Carers conducted by the ABS showed there were 3.9 million Australians (20% pop) who had a disability of some kind, with just over 1.2 million reported to have a severe or profound disability for which they always or sometimes needed help.  It is not surprising therefore that over 2.6 million people reported they were Carers, with over 487,000 providing a full-time or primary Carer role.  Read More