I work 18 hours a day, but I don’t get paid

A grandmother is determined to keep her promise to her dying sister, despite the “exhaustive” price tag.

Marie Nelson, from Old Swan, looks after her grandson Stephen Brewery as he has cerebral palsy in all four limbs. The 55-year-old, who now lives in Breck Road, Anfield, has been looking after him since August 2020 after her sister, his mother Linda, died.

However, after years of continuing to support Stephen, 50, Marie feels “ignored and let down” by those in power. She said she “just wants to be heard” and stop being “invisible”.

READ MORE: Man jailed in Vietnam for month as family demands answers

READ MORE: Man posts homophobic note to gay ‘group’ and sets their bin on fire

The grandmother-of-nine told the ECHO: “I’m not getting anywhere with anyone. They don’t get holidays, breaks or days off. I don’t mind days off, but I have the right to holidays. I can’t have these holidays because there is no one there who cares about Stephen but me.

“Every time I’m asked to do something, my other family members always complain that my answer is no. But that’s the only answer I can give. It’s frustrating for them because they’re wasting time with my grandchildren. The family is going to Spain for her 13th birthday and I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”

Marie works as Stephen’s carer every day from 5:30 am to 8:00 pm. She learned how to take care of him while Linda was still alive and now lifts him daily by herself – even if it has to be done by two people.

Marie is paid 40 hours a week for caregiving, but she said she does a lot more than that by the time you count shopping trips and cleaning. The mother-of-three also owns The Scranary, a cafe on Townsend Lane, and where she normally does her shifts, she now has to pay someone else to do it.

Stephen is booked into Southport Sandpipers for 12 days in July. However, it costs £4,700 – a price Marie can’t afford to pay any more ‘by any means’.

Marie said she feels like her life has been put on hold since becoming a carer, but it’s a promise she’s prepared to keep.

Cafe owner shares experience as part of national charity Revitalise, Give Me a Break campaign. It calls on the next group of MPs to take into account the critical state of affairs in the social care sector – in particular, the significant decline in access to respite support.

The charity claims drastic cuts to local authority funding mean many unpaid carers are getting “no break”. Of the 4.7 million unpaid carers in England and Wales, just one in 129 receive respite support, a 37% drop on 2015.

Revitalize believes that what is happening now is instead of planned intervention to support caring relationships, carers are being forced to say they cannot continue before help is offered.

Marie, agreed with this sentiment, adding, “Taking care of yourself is a waste. But when you do it on your own, without any help, that takes on its range. Is exhausting. It is so frustrating because we are looking after our loved ones and because of this the council is leaving you. They know we can’t leave because we’re a family.”

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: “Liverpool City Council is fully committed to supporting family carers and providing respite care in a number of different ways to meet individual needs and circumstances. Respite care can include care services arranged for a person in their own home to allow their carer to have a break from their caring role and, where appropriate, respite can also be arranged in a respite care setting.

“We are actively supporting Marie’s nephew by providing direct payments, which he uses to pay his aunt to provide care and support. In order for Marie to have a break from her caring role, we provided residential respite care away from home for her grandson and we continue to work to develop contingency plans to allow Marie to plan for future breaks from her caring role. “

Marie and Stephen have set up a GoFundMe to help with their ongoing issues. You can donate to them Here.

Enter the £1,500 Aldi voucher giveaway and host a great BBQ to remember

Sign up for the ECHO’s LGBTQIA+ newsletter