Support for Carers

A major grant from the Nottinghamshire Freemasons in 2020, enabled us to kickstart a programme of much-needed support to people aged 50 years+ who are carers of adults with learning disabilities. Now I'm supporting carers of all ages to plan for the future, have time for themselves, and meet others facing similar challenges.

Hello, I'm Sarah Wagstaff

I work full time for Reach; three days a week at Flower Pod Southwell as a project coordinator and now I also work two days a week as the Carers Manager.

I am very much looking forward to this new role supporting family carers and continuing to provide them the support that Reach has to offer to navigate the ever changing social care and benefits systems.

I have more than 25 years experience as a registered Learning Disabilities Nurse so am well placed to provide support to carers to ensure parity of care within healthcare settings. It is important that family carers have a dedicated point of contact not only for practical advice but also to offer emotional support.

At Reach last year we provided 508 hours of one-to-one support. We enable family carers to build confidence and to meet other carers facing similar challenges. Meeting in groups enables carers to share their experiences and concerns or just to have a laugh together!

For families caring for people with care and support needs, major life changes such as bereavement or illness can quickly lead to crises and emergency solutions. I provide bespoke support to many families, sometimes at crisis point. Looking forward, we want to continue to be there for families, not only during these difficult times, but also to support them to plan better for the future as soon as possible, to avoid risk of poor outcomes for individuals.

If you or anyone you know is caring for somebody with a learning disability, please do reach out to me any time by email at sarah.wagstaff@reachuk.org.

Sara, Charlie, Steve and Josie’s Story

Brother and sister Charlie and Sara attend Reach Newark. When their mum sadly passed away in 2022, Charlie was living in the family home with his dad, Steve, and Sara was living with her 74-year-old grandmother, Josie. Steve was finding it difficult to cope and relying on Josie more and more for help. Both Steve and Josie now receive one-to-one support from me. Steve was finding it difficult to keep on top of household admin which led to a withdrawal of benefits – I supported him to get them reinstated and to increase his household income by accessing his full entitlements. I supported Josie to become Charlie’s appointee when Steve didn’t quite feel ready to take on that responsibility. I’m now supporting Steve to find accommodation which better supports his and Charlie’s needs.

"We didn’t really know where to start after Bridget passed away – Catherine knew exactly what to do and how to do it. It’s been a difficult time, but with Catherine’s help, we can finally see the wood for the trees.” – Josie, family carer