BRADFORD charity Carers’ Resource has been celebrating helping 200 carers, over the past 20 months, to rebuild their lives.

The charity’s CReate scheme has helped people in a variety of ways, including finding work, accessing education or training, setting up businesses, gaining an award in recognition of volunteering and taking part in workshops to help boost their self esteem or learn a new skill.

Carers who gathered at a celebration event last week included Bartlomiej Birecki, 29, of Barkerend, who moved to Bradford from Poland to look after his mother whose larynx had been damaged by cancer treatment.

As a consequence she is unable to speak, has extreme difficulty swallowing, meaning that eating is a major problem, and often suffers from chest infections.

Bart has been supported by Carers’ Resource and its free CReate service. “We helped him get a £200 grant to help pay for driving lessons so he can eventually take his mum to medical appointments in the car. He has also been helped to enrol on an ESOL (English as a Second Language) course to improve his English skills, and he has had support in compiling a CV to make him ‘job ready’,” said a charity spokesman.

Bart said: “CReate has really helped me to find the right direction in my life and it has helped me to make what was a very difficult situation a lot more manageable.

“I am very grateful. I’m on a course and now I have a proper CV, I’ve been helped in so many ways.”

Conrad Taylor, 50, of Baildon, was a university lecturer up to PhD level in statistical analysis, maths and psychology, before leaving his academic career to look after his father who had terminal cancer and died two months ago.

“I am trying to return to work after four years out of it and it’s not easy. As I’ve been out of the academic field and as I don’t have a current research profile, it’s very difficult to get back in,” said Conrad.

“I’ve gone from giving high-level lectures at Oxford University to finding my confidence has also been affected as I’ve been focused on caring for so long.

“Some employers have told me I’m over-qualified and that I’d be bored, so now I’m working with CReate to find a different career path, and CReate is helping me to make that transition and focus on the skills I have.”

Conrad is initially intending to offer GCSE maths classes to carers through the CReate service and classes to prepare people for embarking on maths GCSE or other courses.

Representatives from businesses were also invited to the event, where they shared their experiences of supporting carers in the workplace and discussed recognising carers within their organisations and how they could be supported.

A CReate client who has now gone on to set up a cake-making business made and decorated a cake for the event in the Carers’ Resource colours, blue and yellow.

Stella Elson, CReate manager, said: “We spend so much of our time in one-to-ones and with our clients that having this celebration event makes us stop to celebrate their success as a whole and it’s a reminder of what can be achieved for each and every one of them.

“When people are caring they have to focus on their responsibilities but when they then try to find work they can be asked about the gaps in their CV. We’re trying to help them fill those gaps with the skills they have learned while they are caring.

“Employers are also being encouraged to recognise carers within their workforce, and those that do can see benefits in being flexible with staff who are carers as it helps to boost morale, motivates staff and can be more profitable for the company in the long run.

“If there are any carers out there who are interested in self improvement, whether it’s a new leisure activity or a new job, we’d love to hear from them.”

Carers Resource recently also launched a new online forum for carers and vulnerable people.

Part of its Caring Callers project, the forum is geared towards people who are unable to access groups and activities because of their caring commitements or because they don’t have enough time or have mobility issues. The online forum is aimed at tackling isolation, enabling carers to meet up and chat, share experiences and develop friendships and mutual support.

Caring Callers – for carers and vulnerable people in Bradford, Craven and Harrogate districts – includes a telephone service which matches volunteers with clients. For more information about Carers’ Resource call (01274) 449660 or visit carersresource.org.