Anne's Story

They call it the sandwich generation — caught between caring for your parents and your partner. My husband has Type 2 diabetes with complications, and my mother, who lives on the other side of Luton, has severe osteoporosis. I am the link between them, driving back and forth, managing medications, attending appointments, keeping both households running.

What nobody tells you about being a carer is how much admin there is. Prescription renewals, benefit forms, council tax exemptions, blue badge applications, GP letters, social worker reports. I spend more time on the phone than I do on anything else.

Carers in Luton helped me with the practical side — a volunteer now helps Mum with shopping, and the advice team sorted out our benefit entitlements. But more than that, they gave me permission to say, "This is hard." In a world that expects carers to cope quietly, being told that it is okay to struggle was the most helpful thing anyone has ever said to me.