Our story
We have dedicated 30 years to supporting and improving the lives of carers. From a small locally funded project to an established charity, The Carers’ Centre has come a long way.
We have stayed true to our roots and continue to put carers at the heart of our work. We strive to ensure that they are recognised, valued, and supported not only by us but by the general public.
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2026 January
The Carers’ Centre for Bath and North East Somerset has secured a seven-year contract to continue its work to support thousands of adult and young carers.
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2025
Bridgit Care, our AI online support tool, was launched to support carers 24/7
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2025
New Dementia resources on our website including a podcast and a partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society to deliver courses for carers
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2024
December
Sir Ed Davey and the Bath Philharmonia’s Young Carers Choir came together to record a Christmas song – Love is Enough.
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2024
September
Launch of our Carer Money Matters project. Run in collaboration with Carers Trust and Wales & West Utilities, the project supports unpaid carers in Bath and North East Somerset through a comprehensive program of advice, grants, training, and support. Our dedicated Energy Advisor Charlie has helped hundreds of people with personalised assistance and guidance.
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2024
June
We expanded the number of our plus-one cafes where carers could bring their partner to enjoy a cup of tea and a chat. This included Bath Abbey, Larkhall, Combe Down and Keynsham
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2023 October
‘My Caring Role’ was launched to support carers with emergency planning. The document was produced to help carers think about the support they provide to their loved one and what information would need to be shared should they be unable to continue caring.
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2023 September
The Carers’ Centre partnered with Dorothy House Hospice Care and We Hear You to launch Bereavement Help Point in Bath.
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2023
July
Our young carers travelled to Westminster to perform music created with Bath Philharmonia to an audience of MPs, Peers and music industry professionals at the House of Commons.
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2022 December
A three-year funding commitment from the Henry Smith Foundation allowed us to further expand the range and frequency of our Carer Cafes.
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2022
The return of in-person activities and groups. Mixed delivery offer – in-person, phone, online and by post. Our Dementia Cafes reopened and we expanded our wellbeing library to offer breathing exercises, sleep tips and nutrition.
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2022
Jubilee picnic
On Thursday 2nd of June more than 250 people from across Bath and North East Somerset celebrated the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in style at a special party jointly organised by The Carers' Centre, The Holburne Museum and Southside Family Project.
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2020
As coronavirus restrictions were put in place, The Carers’ Centre introduced wellbeing calls, virtual group activities and wellbeing activities by post.
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2019
We launched our Freephone Support Line to provide essential one to one support, information and advice to those in need.
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2019
We provided a vital service to carers experiencing isolation and loneliness by expanding our neighbourhood Carer Cafés.
We launched our Freephone Support Line to provide essential one to one support, information and advice to those in need.
A supportive network is key to ensuring a carer does not reach breaking point. We secured £415,000 in funding to explore ways people can better support carers. Over the next few years we will be working closely with the various groups of people in a carer's life, from health professionals to friends and family. Watch this space for news and resources!
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2016
We were awarded a PQASSO level 3 for our performance, which was the highest quality mark a charity could receive.
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2015
Carers told us that they wanted a space to call their own. We therefore secured a crucial social investment loan from St John’s Foundation to support the purchase of our lovely premises based in Bath, which we had previously rented, along with money raised by carers and the general public towards our Woodlands Appeal.
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2014
As the number of unpaid carers continued to increase, so did the demand for support. We expanded to a second base in Bath and our dedicated team doubled in size.
We also received a very special donation from the BBC One Show – our beautiful garden! Over thirty volunteers helped install the garden across five days – carers, staff, trustees, local residents and local business employees worked together to transform the outdoor space, for carers to enjoy in the years to come.
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2013
After successfully gaining various contracts The Carers’ Centre were supporting more than 3,000 carers across Bath and North East Somerset.
We launched a fantastic young carer’s service to support 600 children that were under 18 years old and caring for a loved one.
We also secured a £300,000 grant from The National Lottery to expand our respite services. This meant more than 500 carers could take a meaningful break from their caring role each year.
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2010
We were renamed as Bath and North East Somerset Carers’ Centre.
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2005
We became a member of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers (now known as The Carers Trust) and we were commissioned by Bath and North East Somerset Council to provide vital carer support services in the area.
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1996
Within two years The Volunteer Bureau transformed in to The Care Network, where a further 8 staff members were employed at our base in Radstock. Colleagues, Craig Jolly and Allan Trinder worked together to form the first Carers Strategy.
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1994
We start our history with a small, locally funded project led by The Volunteer Bureau. The project’s aim was to support unpaid carers in the area of Wansdyke (now North East Somerset).