Today we have been marking Homecare Day and highlighting our amazing carers on different social media to reinforce how much they are valued by us, the service users and the wider community.
It has been far from a usual year but even the arrival of a pandemic failed to deter people from joining us at such a difficult time - homecare has been more valuable than ever in keeping our service users safe.
We have been looking back at some of the journeys our carers have made to becoming part of the Extra Hands family.
Amanda has changed careers to work with us and the arrival of Coronavirus inspired her move.
“I absolutely love being a carer. Making the users happy and leaving them safe, with a smile on their face, is the best feeling,” she said.
A former hairdresser, she is used to working with people, but becoming a home carer is still a big step.
Khloe is enjoying a return to us and says it has been a tough year, but she has no regrets.
“It’s been very hard for a lot of the people we care for, but I think I’m the sort of person who naturally does more than I need to to help people,” she says.
Laura was frustrated working in admin and the pandemic prompted her to make the move.
“It can be a bit odd going into someone’s house, but once I’ve done that and got to know the place and person, I really enjoy it,” she said.
As the pandemic took hold, our home carers were busier than ever and that’s when Natalie joined us.
She described her move as a ‘leap of faith’ but said she was really glad that she made the move. The timing of her joining was coincidental and becoming a home carer was something she had been considering for a while.
Tamara is one of our younger recruits at the age of 20 but she had experience of caring for her mum and joining us was a natural step.
“When I saw what was happening with the virus, it seemed like the best time to get involved with a job that was a natural fit for me,” she said.
The pandemic certainly brought us some challenges, but it also saw our carers working hard to make a difference to the lives of our service users at such a difficult time.
It was things like the Clap for Carers that buoyed our team and Simon said people in the street he was in at the time had delayed coming out until he and a colleague arrived to be greeted with a round of applause.
“That made me feel great,” he said.
And it’s never too late to make the switch into home caring - as Caroline explained when speaking about her 15 years with us.
“This company will bend over backwards to make sure you’re comfortable in what you’re doing, to supply the best service to care users,” she said.
A career change was spot-on for Andrea who made it to the shortlist of nominees for the prestigious Gill Chase Award.
“I have absolutely lovely service users and really enjoy what I do,” she said.
Like most websites we use cookies to give you the best experience, by using this website you agree to their use. For more information please read our privacy policy.