Every year, more than 310 carers come to us. What happens next is rarely the same twice, because no two caring situations are the same. We meet people where they are.
Personalised, one-to-one guidance to help carers in Alloa identify, access, and sustain meaningful breaks from their caring role.
Many carers know they need a break but have no idea where to start — or assume that respite care is not available to them. Our advisers conduct an initial conversation to understand the caring situation, then map out the options: commissioned respite through Clackmannanshire Council, self-directed support, local day services, overnight provision, and emergency contingency planning. We stay with carers through carer's assessment processes, advocate where needed, and follow up to make sure the break actually happened.
A structured, trained peer-support scheme matching carers with volunteer Buddies for regular, confidential one-to-one contact.
Buddies meet or speak with their matched carer at least twice a month, offering a reliable, non-judgemental space to talk. All Buddies complete Solenne's twelve-hour training programme, which covers active listening, understanding carer stress, local referral pathways, and safeguarding. Many Buddies are former carers themselves, and this lived understanding is consistently cited by supported carers as the single most valuable aspect of the relationship. The network currently has 64 active Buddies across Alloa and the wider Clackmannanshire area.
Free, practical group sessions in Alloa addressing the specific health risks carers face and the entitlements they are often unaware of.
Running monthly at the Speirs Centre and in partnership with NHS Forth Valley, our workshops cover topics including sleep and fatigue management, recognising carer burnout, understanding a carer's assessment under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, and navigating GP services as a carer. Sessions are kept deliberately small — never more than twelve participants — to allow real conversation rather than passive information delivery. Attendance is free and childcare or cared-for respite cover can be arranged on request.
A drop-in and telephone service ensuring carers in Alloa can quickly reach accurate, up-to-date information about local and national support.
Our information service operates from our Alloa base three days a week and by telephone throughout the week. Staff and trained volunteers maintain a live directory of Clackmannanshire services — updated quarterly and cross-checked against council and NHS changes — so that any carer who contacts us gets accurate, current guidance rather than outdated leaflets. We also carry out quarterly outreach visits to GP waiting rooms, Alloa's community pharmacy, and local community centres to reach carers who have not yet identified themselves as needing support.
Every year, more than 310 carers in Alloa and Clackmannanshire come through our doors, call our line, or are referred to us by a GP or social worker. What happens next is rarely the same twice, because no two caring situations are the same. Some people need a single, focused conversation about how to access a short-term break before a health appointment of their own. Others are in crisis — exhausted, isolated, and unsure how much longer they can continue — and they need the Solenne Buddy Network as well as active help securing regular relief. We meet people where they are and we work at their pace, never pushing towards outcomes that serve our reporting rather than their lives.
The unglamorous, consistent follow-through is what distinguishes genuine carer support from a signposting exercise.
Concretely, our work in any given month involves one-to-one respite navigation sessions with carers at various stages of that process; Buddy matching meetings between new carers and volunteer Buddies; a carer wellbeing workshop; outreach visits to Alloa health settings; and ongoing liaison with Clackmannanshire Council's social work department, NHS Forth Valley's carer liaison team, and third-sector colleagues including Carers Trust Scotland. We also spend significant time on follow-up — checking that the break was taken, that the Buddy relationship is working, and that the carer's situation has not changed in ways that require a different response. The unglamorous, consistent follow-through is what distinguishes genuine carer support from a signposting exercise.
No referral required. No wrong questions. If you think you might be a carer — or you support someone who is — we want to hear from you.
