National Carers Week 2026: Celebrating Everyone Who Cares

What is National Carers Week?

National Carers Week runs annually, raising awareness of caring and the challenges that unpaid carers face. It also encourages people who don’t identify as carers to examine their own caring responsibilities and access much-needed support.

When is National Carers Week 2026?

In 2026, Carers Week is from 8^th to 14^th June.

This year’s theme: Building Carer Friendly Communities

Carers Week explains this year’s theme. “Carer friendly communities are places, spaces, services and community groups where unpaid carers are recognised, understood, and valued.”

Carer Friendly Communities recognise unpaid carers, the vital role they play, and understands the realities and impact of caring. They also take action to support carers effectively and empower them accordingly.

The many faces of caring in the UK

Unpaid Carers

An estimated 8.9 million adults are cared for by family, friends, or neighbours who are unpaid. Many of these unpaid carers do not identify as such, simply viewing themselves as people who support loved ones.

Domiciliary (Home) Care Workers

Home care workers are paid carers who travel to their customers’ homes and assist with everyday tasks, such as personal care, meal preparation, medication administration, and running errands.

Live-in domiciliary care workers

Carers who live in their customers’ homes provide around the clock support. This can be reassuring if the person is living with complex care needs or requires constant monitoring.

Residential Care Staff

Carers who work in registered care homes provide support around the clock in a series of shifts. They provide care as part of a rotating team, meaning residents can see many different faces over the course of a day.

Kinship Carers

This is where vulnerable children are cared for by other family members, such as siblings, grandparents, or other relatives, when their parents are unable to manage themselves.

Family and unpaid carers: the backbone of care at home

Carers are the backbone of the care system. In fact, there are over five million unpaid carers in the UK today, many of whom are balancing caring responsibilities with work, studies, or family life. National Carers Week is a moment to acknowledge their dedication, raise awareness of the challenges they face, and call for better access to resources and support. We want to take a moment to recognise the millions of unpaid carers looking after loved ones at home. Their strength, commitment and love are truly inspiring.

Professional carers: a career built on compassion

While all professional carers should receive some level of practical training before they embark on their duties, nobody can be taught how to be compassionate. At Helping Hands, we’ve always discovered that naturally compassionate qualities are more important than practical experience, and we stand by that for all of the people we recruit.

The shared challenges all carers face

Some of the challenges that carers face include:

Carer burnout – Mental and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged caregiving stress. This affects both paid and unpaid carers.

Compassion fatigue – Refers to the “emotional cost of caring for others or their emotional pain” according to the NHS.

Balancing responsibilities – Many carers are balancing a home life, raising children, and undertaking paid work with their caring responsibilities.

Making ends meet – Whether care work is paid or not, some carers may have worries around paying all of their bills.

Why taking a break matters for every carer

Taking a break matters for every carer because it’s impossible to continue delivering high standards of care if you are physically and emotionally exhausted. At Helping Hands we provide paid holidays for all of our carers, ensuring that they always have the opportunity to take an extended break. We can do this because we employ all of our carers ourselves, which many care providers do not. This is just one of the reasons that we’re considered the UK’s most trusted home care company.

How to get involved in National Carers Week 2026

Getting involved in National Carers Week 2026 is as easy as visiting the website and filling in a short form. This means that your name will be displayed on the home page, demonstrating your commitment to raising awareness and your support for all carers. If you would like to learn more, and whatever industry you work in, the Carers Week website has suggestions for ensuring your workplace or local area is a carer friendly community.

How Helping Hands supports carers, paid and unpaid

We understand that caring doesn’t stop when the working day ends. Many people are quietly supporting loved ones at home without formal training or support networks. If you’re one of them, we want you to know you’re not alone. Our team is always here with guidance, advice and care services that are fully tailored to your needs.

Our dedicated care teams provide compassionate, person-centred support every single day, often going above and beyond to make a difference. Whether it’s offering companionship, personal care, help with mobility, or simply being a friendly face, their work transforms lives and brings peace of mind to families.

From all of us at Helping Hands, thank you to all carers for everything you do. This week – and every week – you are seen, valued, and celebrated.

Looking after yourself when you’re caring for someone

Looking after yourself when you’re caring for someone can be as straightforward as someone coming in regularly to give you a short respite. If the person you look after is not already being supported by your local authority, its worth contacting them and requesting a needs assessment. This will ensure that all of their care needs are taken into account and a plan of support put into place that will not only care for them, but care for you too. If they’d prefer private home care, contact Helping Hands’ friendly customer care team to discover how we could be supporting you in your area.

Further resources and support

Talk to us if you’d like to discover more about care at home and how we could be taking the pressure off loved ones’ shoulders. Requesting a carer’s assessment or financial needs assessment from the local authority will also help you to understand what help is available in your area. Organisations such as Carers UK and Carers Trust are great sources of information and support for unpaid carers too. Nobody should be struggling to manage – always ask for help.