A Crossroads service is about giving time - improving the lives of carers by giving them time to be themselves and have a break from their caring responsibilities. Our aim is to provide a reliable service, tailored to meet the individual needs of each carer and the person they are caring for. We have schemes in most parts of England and Wales, which provide a range of services to meet local needs.

Every scheme provides practical support where and when it is most needed - usually in the home. A trained Carer Support Worker will take over from the carer to give them 'time to be themselves'. We talk to the carers about how often they would like us to visit, how long the visit should be and at what time they would like our support provided. They then have 'time' to use as they wish - to see friends, keep appointments, study, read or even just to sleep.

In the first year of operation in 1974, Crossroads supported just 28 families. Today Crossroads Caring for Carers consists of approximately 180 member schemes throughout England and Wales. Over 4.4 million care hours are provided every year to more than 35,000 carers - The equivalent of over 500 years of care.

Many of our schemes provide additional services including young carers projects, holiday play schemes for disabled children and care for people who are terminally ill.

If you would like to find out if Crossroads can help you, please get in touch with your local scheme.