Trustees and staff at Charlotte Straker House in Corbridge say they are determined to find the cash needed to offer hard-pressed families and carers a break by allocating one bed to provide free respite care.
And with an annual running cost of around £40,000, raising £120,000 would secure the first three years of care, and allow time for an appraisal of how well the service is being used.
The care facility was previously home to three GP beds which were axed due to funding cuts in 2014 – but around 50 per cent of their use was for respite purposes.
Chairman of trustees Dr Bill Cunningham says he believes there is a clear shortage of respite care in the district and the campaign is in response to public feedback.
“One bed is not a lot, but we hope it will help some people a great deal,” he told a crowd gathered for the official launch of the campaign last Wednesday.
“Our aim as a charity is to provide care according to need, and we have already been overwhelmed by the level of public support to help us do that.”
A £17,000 donation from the Roland Cookson Fund, managed by the Community Foundation; £6,700 from a golf day at Matfen Hall and regular donations from members of Friends of Charlotte Straker have generated in excess of £25,000 already. A local business has also pledged £10,000.
Sharon Spurling, chief executive of the charity Carers Northumberland, said: “Having access to respite care is so important because it allows carers to carry on caring for longer, and that includes people who don’t necessarily see themselves as carers.
“It could be people caring for their parents, a husband caring for his wife – responsibilities that many people feel they have signed up to and they just keep going.
“But it can be exhausting and it can be a 24-hour job, so taking a break, even for a week, can really make a difference.”
Over 2,700 carers across the county are registered with the charity, but it is thought there are around 36,000 carers in Northumberland.
“If all of those people just suddenly stopped what they were doing on Monday morning, it would cost the equivalent of £722m just to cover the work they do,” added Sharon.
“I can’t emphasis enough how important services like this are.”
Donations can be pledged online at mydonate.bt.com/charities/thecharlottestrakerproject and more information about the proposed service can be found at www.charlottestraker.org.uk/our-care/services/respite-care/
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