Turbulent, resilient, challenging, rewarding. They're all words two local residents use to describe their roles as carers.
Luke Randall, 22, became a carer as a teenager, looking after his chronically ill mum as well as his brother, who has epilepsy and young onset Parkinson's disease.
Mum Tracy Ellis cares for her 14-year-old child who lives with chronic asthma, 18-year-old child who has autism, ADHD and learning delays as well as her husband who has a severe back injury.
The pair were two of 15,000 local carers recognised at a forum held by City of Newcastle on Friday ahead of National Carers Week next week. Carers had the opportunity to receive information about local groups and resources.
Being a carer has meant a relocation for Tracy to be closer to services and need for job flexibility, while Luke said it had been a juggling act with study and his own wellbeing.
"A good word to sort of encapsulate it all is turbulent," Luke said. "It really sort of depends on how my mum and my brother's health is at the time.
"I've had challenges with my own mental health and balancing school and studying with my caring roles. I always thought that my mental health and caring, it had to be one or the other.
"But ever since I had a support network that sort of helped me overcome that, I realised that they can coexist. I can fill my cup and pour from a full cup to help my caring role."
But recognising their own care roles wasn't entirely straightforward.
"It's definitely tricky to know when you are a carer sometimes," Tracy said.
"Defining it definitely helped justify why I would sometimes be feeling like I'm pulling my hair out, or feeling a bit alone on certain things. I think once you find that connection, those relationships with the right people, it can be quite a life changing experience in the positive sense."
Tracy Crisp from Carers NSW said it was important to recognise carers, who are often referred to as the "hidden workforce of Australia".
"The work they do is unpaid," she said. "They don't have access to annual leave and personal leave, they're not accumulating superannuation, and they're doing it 24/7 a lot of the time, so it's a real credit to them."
Newcastle Labor councillor Margaret Wood, who is a carer herself, said recognition of carers informed behaviour, attitudes, government policy and service provision.
"Council is the layer of government that interacts the most with its community," she said. "So it has a terrific opportunity to influence the way community thinks about carers and their role."
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