Carer Support Hubs

What are Carer Support Hubs?

You told us that you wanted much stronger local support for carers and thanks to a grant of £200,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund (formerly the Big Lottery Fund) awarded in the year 2013/14 we have been able to provide a grassroots service run by carers for carers, to best meet your needs. The hubs are a one-stop shop where you can find information about what is happening in your local area, get advice, support and make friends. There are also peer led and interest based groups. 

Most of our hub groups meet in person in community venues, although there are some meetings that are held online on Zoom. Details of upcoming hub meetings and any speakers or activities are in the 'Upcoming Hub Events' section further down this page. If you wish to join in any meeting you need to book a place. Please contact us on 01992 58 69 69 or email  to book. We can also guide you through using Zoom if you require some help with this. 

We have 16 area-based hubs - Berkhamsted, Bishop’s Stortford, Borehamwood, Buntingford, Chorleywood, Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, Hoddesdon, Potters Bar, Letchworth Garden City, Royston, St Albans, Stevenage, Ware, Watford and Welwyn Garden City.

Our hubs are groups run by volunteers or carers for carers and focus on offering emotional and practical support. Most groups meet once a month and offer activities include a programme of speakers and time to talk. Carers can book 1:1 appointments with a Carers in Hertfordshire Carer Support Advisor at some meetings to plan their caring role.

Other groups

We also have a Men's Carers' Group that meets online on Zoom, on the third Tuesday of the month, 10.30am - 11.30am, and an Evening Carers’ Group that meets online via Zoom on the second Wednesday of each month from 7pm - 8pm. This group is for working carers or for carers whose caring commitments mean they are unable to attend a meeting in the day. Contact us if you are interested in booking a place.

In addition to our Carer Support Hub groups many areas will have Peer Led Carer Groups, for example there is a Carers' Camera Club (which met online during the COVID-19 pandemic and now offers a mix of online and face to face meetings. You can find out about our Hubs and the support groups here -  Carers' Support Hubs and Peer Led Groups List.

You can find out more about hubs in our video An Introduction to Carer Support Hubs. 

In addition each hub area has Volunteer Ambassadors whose role it is to help identify new carers and to spread the word about what is available locally for them.

Within each hub area you can also attend workshops to learn new skills and have a break from caring. Please click here to see what events are available.

Volunteer Ambassador James promoting support for carers at a Community Event.

Upcoming Hub Events

If you wish to attend any meeting please book a place by emailing us at  or call us on 01992 58 69 69. We advise you to contact us to check details of meetings as they can be subject to change. Please also contact us for support or advice related to your caring role.

Wednesday 29th June 2022, 10.30am - 12.30pm: Potters Bar Carers Support Hub at King Charles the Martyr Church, Potters Bar. An opportunity for carers to meet with other carers, share information and support each other. This meeting someone from the Alzheimer's Society will talk about the services the charity provides and one of our Carer Support Advisors will be on hand to offer one to one support related to your caring role.

Thursday 30th June 2022, 10.30am - 12.30pm: Stevenage Carers Support Hub at Stevenage Leisure Centre (Lewis Silkin Room), Stevenage. An opportunity for carers to meet with other carers, share information and support each other. This meeting someone from the Alzheimer's Society will give a talk about how dementia affects people and examples of simple actions that can make life easier for someone you care for with dementia.

Wednesday 6th July 2022, 10.30am - 12.30pm: Bishop's Stortford Carers Support Hub at Bishop's Stortford Baptist Church, Bishop's Stortford. An opportunity for carers to meet with other carers, share information and support each other. This meeting one of our Carer Support Advisors will be on hand to offer one to one support related to your caring role.

Wednesday 6th July 2022, 10.30am - 12.30pm: Borehamwood Carers Support Hub at Allum Manor House & Hall, Elstree. An opportunity for carers to meet with other carers, share information and support each other and this meeting Jane Brown, our Health Champion Liaison Officer, will talk about GP Carer Champions and how she works with healthcare professionals to help them identify and support unpaid carers.

Thursday 7th July 2022, 10.30am - 12.30pm: Royston Carers Support Hub at Royston Town Hall, Royston. An opportunity unpaid family and friend carers in the Royston area to get together to socialise and support each other. This meeting someone from Melbourn Springs Care Home, which offers residential care, dementia care and pre-bookable respite stays for older individuals, will be attending to give a short presentation.

We are pleased to let you know that our Berkhamsted Carers Support Hub resumed face to face meetings in June 2022 on Tuesday 14th June 2022. The group is meeting at a new venue The Vyne Theatre, Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 1EH. It will meet the second Tuesday of the month, 10.30am – 12.30pm.

How can you get involved?

Volunteer

There are lots of training opportunities for carers to take on a variety of voluntary roles with their local hub. 

You can also look at the volunteer roles by clicking here (link to Volunteer Jobs page) or find out more about being a Carers in Hertfordshire volunteer on our Volunteer page. To register your interest in any part of this project please email  or call 01992 58 69 69.

One way we keep in touch with our Volunteers is via newsletter and you can find them on our Volunteer page. 

Speakers

If you think you have a topic that would be of interest to carers at our Hub support groups please email the volunteer email with details.