New Support Framework for 422,901 New Zealanders

Back Me Up!

MEDIA RELEASE 19 September, 2006

New Support Framework for 422,901 New Zealanders

Carers New Zealand has launched a new consumer magazine for family carers, along with other resources to help those who care at home for a sick, injured, frail or disabled family member.

Family Care NZ is one of the resources in the national non-profit’s Back Me Up! framework, which will be launched on Wednesday (20 September).

Up to one in five New Zealanders supports a family member with health and disability needs, a role that can last for a short time or for a lifetime.

Carers NZ chair Jan Moss says many carers are ill equipped for this challenge, and finding sources of help can be difficult.

“Caring is something we can all expect to give or receive in our families during our lives. Knowing what support is available, and how to access services, is the objective of Back Me Up!”

“If carers have early access to information, advice and support, they can avoid common problems, such as disruption to employment, relationship tensions, and burnout.”

Family Care NZ is a quarterly magazine distributed free to 20,000 carers nationwide. From December copies will be sold in bookshops and retail outlets to reach invisible carers who are not part of any formal support network.

Partners in the magazine include ACC, Guardian Healthcare Group, the Open Polytechnic’s LifeWorks program, Public Trust, and St John. Ms Moss says it is the first family care magazine in the world to test the retail market, and only the second mainstream consumer magazine for carers in the world (the other is in the United States).

Other aspects of Back Me Up! include workplace based support groups, a free book for those supporting older family members, a revamped online information channel for carers funded by the Ministry of Health (www.carers.net.nz), and support networks for Maori and young carers.

Carers NZ is the Secretariat for the NZ Carers Alliance, a network of 38 national non-profits seeking better recognition and support for family carers. The Back Me Up! framework and Family Care NZ will be launched at a function in Wellington by the Minister for Disability Issues, the Hon Ruth Dyson. Many carers from the Wellington region will attend the launch.

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FAMCARENZ mag Dec issue.pdf(1,252.15 KB)

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