Author – Jacques Spaul
I am lucky enough to have a friend who is a carer, so I decided to interview her to get a better idea of what it is like to be a carer.
First of all, for context, she works with Within Reach and would like to remain anonymous
Jacques: What is the hardest part about being a carer?
Carer: The hardest part is definitely seeing the person that you’re supporting struggle and you not always being able to give them what they need
Jacques: Yeah, I can definitely see that. What was one of the most difficult experiences in your care career?
Carer: Probably dealing with self-harm. I can’t go into too much detail because of confidentiality however, I have seen some pretty horrific stuff
Jacques: How do you destress after a tough shift?
Carer: Coming home to my best friend
Jacques: You don’t live with me? Anyways, What hobbies do you have outside of care?
Carer: Playing on my Xbox and going to the gym
Jacques: Very original. What have you had to learn or change about yourself because of care?
Carer: I had never done care work before the job that I’m in now so I had to learn everything from scratch. What shocked me the most was how much paperwork I had to memorize and learn how to fill out almost instantly. I also had to change the way I spoke and dealt with situations as you always have to think of the best outcome for the person you are supporting
Jacques: How has COVID impacted your work?
Carer: Every day, we had to ensure that the person we were supporting would have 3 activities to complete a day in order to keep them busy. COVID made this very difficult as we couldn’t go out to do more entertaining activities for example going to the zoo and instead they had to be things we could do at home, for example, hair or makeup. Due to boredom, we had a lot more issues during the lockdowns
Jacques: That must have been really tough. If someone is considering becoming a carer what advice would you give them?
Carer: You need to have the thickest skin going because the people you care for will almost always say horrible things when they are heightened and you just have to brush it off
Jacques: What is your favourite meal?
Carer: I actually don’t know. Probably burgers but they’ve gotta be homemade
Jacques: I don’t remember you ever turning down a McDonalds or takeaway burger…Favourite artist/singer?
Carer: Yung Gravy
Jacques: Not going to lie, I had to look that up to make sure you weren’t giving me a fake name. Do you think it’s harder being a young carer?
Carer: Most definitely. You have to work a lot harder in order for your service user to respect you as there is such a small age difference
Jacques: Do you think carers get enough recognition?
Carer: Definitely not. Carers have been essential before and throughout the pandemic however, the recognition we receive is next to none
Jacques: Favourite ex-boyfriend??????????
Carer: I̶’̶m̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶s̶w̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ You of course!
Jacques: I knew it! What made you want to be a carer?
Carer: I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and help them with things we take for granted
Jacques: What is your favourite part about caring?
Carer: seeing the impact you have on a young person life
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