About Us

Carers Northumberland was established in 2008,  originally there were two separate carers projects running in Northumberland, Carer Link which was based in Belford and Carers Together which was based in Ashington.  A steering group consisting of carers, representatives from the local authority, the healthcare trust, and the voluntary sector was formed to look at how the two existing projects could be developed into a countywide service for all carers in Northumberland.  Carers Northumberland was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and registered charity in 2008 with a board of Trustees and with funding from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the Northern Rock Foundation and the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities Fund.

Today our core funding is from Northumberland County Council Adult Services, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group.  In addition to our core funding we have project specific funding from The North of Tyne Combined Authority and Northumberland County Council Children’s Services.  We are also supported by various charitable trusts, individual and group donations to carry out our work.

The Board of Trustees are responsible for the governance and ensuring that the charity meets it’s aim and objectives.  The Chief Executive Officer, Debra Blakey, is responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the service and the leadership of the staff team.

The charity’s patron is  Her Grace the Duchess of Northumberland.