Petra Declerck, nurse at AZ West, knows the challenges all too well. And she is also an informal caregiver. She has four children in the house but also two people in need of help. “It is always worries, hey. Taking care of the children, the parents. Taking care of work, taking care of colleagues. As long as everything goes well, it is fun, but sometimes it is very heavy.”
According to prevention advisor Kelly Landuyt of AZ West, there is often a taboo on informal care. “We prefer to carry our costs ourselves. Here in the Westhoek we often say:” We are all bears. ” But we want to break that. “
Oksana ZoSsymenko, cleaning lady at AZ West, also takes care of her father in need of help. “It is sometimes busy, but it’s my daddy. I work in the morning and in the afternoon I take care of him.”