Caring for carers - It's healthy to ask.

The Richmond Fellowship Carer Respite Program can offer the person you care for a number of enjoyable, stimulating and sometimes challenging activities, such as walking, movies, bowling, cycling, bush walking, canoeing, horse riding and camping giving you time to yourself.

The person you care for may be dealing with any kind of mental health difficulty including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders and post traumatic stress disorder.

Am I eligible?
To be eligible for the service, you must have lived as a carer the past six months, but:

• You do not have to be living in the same place as the person you care for
• You do not need to be living on a Carer's Allowance
• No formal diagnosis is required

How long is the respite for?
We will be providing individual meetings and group activities for 2-3 hours. These will include walks, barbeques, going to the movies, museum visits, cafes etc.

We also offer 3 hours and 6 hours activities, such as cycling, canoeing, bush walking, abseiling and a range of other indoor pursuits.

There will be a number of camps available that may vary from 2 to 5 days.

The Program aims to be as flexible as possible and will be attentive to the needs of the carers and the persons they are caring for.

Who runs these activities?
The Program is run by a team of experienced mental health professionals including a Program Manager, a Team Leader, a number of Recovery Workers, Support Workers and a Peer Support Worker.  We will be engaging a number of highly trained volunteers in the future.

This respite service is only available for a fixed amount of time but aims to reduce the need for future respite by motivating people, building their self-esteem, stimulating their creativity and providing opportunities for them to access appropriate community support facilities and networks.

The Richmond Fellowship Carer Respite Program has been financed for establishment by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) by way of its National Respite Development Fund.

How much does it cost?
There is only a nominal charge for the service, as The Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres (CRCC's) will fund the costs for eligible applicants.

The Richmond Fellowship Carer Respite Program is also available for purchase by other organisations or individuals.