Those who care for someone with a sickness or disability are some of the most vulnerable in our society. They are increasingly isolated and forgotten.

To raise the profile of carers' needs, Anglicare Sydney has launched new research on the experience of older parents caring for a son or daughter with a disability.

The findings are based on nearly 300 entry surveys of carers coming into Anglicare’s five Support Coordination Programs in Sydney.

These people are in our community and in our churches - and together we can help them.

The Facts on Carers

Australia's 470,000 carers provide services that would otherwise cost federal, state and territory governments $40 billion a year.

Among this group of carers are 28,000 Australians over the age of 65 years who are the primary carer for an adult child with a disability.

Older carers are exhausted, isolated, stressed, suffer ill-health and struggle to navigate a complex and under-resourced service system.

According to Anglicare Sydney's research, a typical older parent carer is:
"¢ over the age of 65, with 20% being over 80;
"¢ female in 80% of cases, and half of these women are widows;
"¢ living full time with person they care for, who in most cases has an intellectual disability; and
"¢ a long term carer, with one third in a caring role for 40 years or more.

Added to this, older parent carers are afraid about the future of their son or daughter after they are too frail to care for them or pass away.

This situation is shameful

That older parent carers experience such suffering in a city where we can turf the Harbour Bridge for a picnic is a national shame.

These aren’t people looking for handouts. They are hard-working, they are resilient and they are stoic. But as they get older, it’s just getting harder.

Your church can help

St John's Ashfield is a perfect example of how to help. The Rev Andrew Katay and his team partner with Anglicare's support services to use the church facilities as a base for programs and outreach.

Your church can help us run practical services for people in need in your community - just take a look at our services and locations and get in touch.

When the local Church reaches out with acts of practical service, new relationships are formed with the community.

For example, just last Thursday St John's Ashfield hosted a gathering of community members and national media to launch Anglicare's research on older carers.

This puts the Gospel front and centre in public dialogue about why our society should care for the vulnerable, giving the local church a platform for telling and demonstrating the love of Christ.