Carefree

This is your story. Or has been. Or will be.

Carefree is a tech-first charity with a mission to transform vacant hotel rooms into vital breaks for unpaid carers. Providing this well-needed respite is the first step towards building a sustainable healthcare system that enables us all to thrive.

Every week, there are over 1 million vacant hotel rooms in the UK. We utilise some of these for 1-2 night stays for unpaid carers.

There are approximately 4 million full-time unpaid carers in the UK, caring for loved-ones. 1 in 2 of us will become a carer for a family member or friend who needs help with daily living at some point in our lives. Despite research showing that carers consistently rate breaks as one of the top three measures that would make the most difference for them 68% are unable to take a break when needed.

By leveraging the hotel industry’s excess capacity, we are enabling thousands of carers nationwide to access vital respite, without adding any additional cost to the public purse. It’s a future-facing and mutually beneficial model of regeneration that sees care not as a burden on the state but as an integral part of our lives and a fundamental cog in the wheel of our economy.

80% of home care in the UK is provided by full-time unpaid carers who sacrifice their own health and wellbeing to look after their loved ones. The changes that we make now will shape the social care landscape for years to come. We believe getting carers a break when they need it, is the first step to creating a more sustainable social care future, that shares, cares and enables us all to thrive.

Find out more about Carefree: https://carefreespace.org/