Age Connects Torfaen is pleased to announce that it has secured £141,442 in funding for another year to continue its vital work supporting unpaid carers in Torfaen, Newport & Blaenau Gwent. This renewed financial backing will enable Age Connects Torfaen to continue to offer activities and support through the Short Breaks Scheme and Carers Support Fund.
The Short Breaks Scheme and Carers Support Fund are coordinated by Carers Trust Wales and, thanks to renewed Welsh Government funding, will run for another year, until March 2026.
Age Connects Torfaen supports [eg: unpaid carers of people living with Dementia throughout Torfaen, Newport & Blaenau Gwent. The funding will ensure that hundreds of its carers will continue to receive essential breaks, resources and support. Its Short Breaks project, ‘Your Time, Your Choice will help unpaid carers to access a range of activities, including nights away, peer support groups and day trips.
Kate Cubbage, Director Carers Trust Wales, says:
“Unpaid carers across Wales provide invaluable care for family members, friends and loved ones, often at great personal sacrifice. We’ve heard from thousands of unpaid carers that the Short Breaks Scheme has given them their first access to a break from caring and that grants through the Carers Support Fund have been essential to keeping food on the table and heat in their homes. These programmes are helping to sustain carers through some of the toughest times.
“The continued funding of £5.25 million distributed across Wales via Carers Trust Wales and Regional Partnership Boards will enable local carer organisations and delivery partners to reach thousands more unpaid carers with a much-needed break from caring and with protection from the sharpest end of poverty into 2026.
“We are thrilled that Age Connects Torfaen successfully applied for funding for another year to help the carers it supports in Torfaen, Newport & Blaenau Gwent Together, we are offering a lifeline to unpaid carers and the chance for them to gain some support and balance in their lives.”
“We are absolutely delighted to have secured this funding renewal,” said Emma Wootten, Development Manager at Age Connects Torfaen “It recognises the essential role unpaid carers play in our communities. Too often, their invaluable contributions go unseen, yet they are the backbone of our health and social care system.
This funding allows us to offer carers a much-needed break—support that can make a significant difference in their lives and the lives of those they care for. It provides the breathing space they often desperately need to carry on.
With this continued support, we are now in a stronger position to expand our reach, enhance our existing services, and develop new initiatives that improve the wellbeing and resilience of unpaid carers across the region.”
For further information, please contact sarah.windsor@ageconnectstorfaen.org
