The Sandwell Crossroads Care Attendant Scheme Limited
Charity 1040679
www.crossroads-caringforcarers.org
Overview
Summary
The Sandwell Crossroads Care Attendant Scheme Limited appears to occupy a hybrid role in the Black Country’s care ecosystem: a regulated home-care provider and a carer-support organisation. Its model seems designed not only to meet the cared-for person’s immediate needs, but also to sustain unpaid family carers through respite, practical training, advice, peer contact and wellbeing support. This positions the organisation as a potential bridge between family care, formal domiciliary care and services intended to prevent avoidable crisis or institutional care.
Operational geography
Coverage: Regional
Operational areas:
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Remaining uncertainties
- Direct evidence shows that Crossroads delivers care-at-home, respite, advice and bereavement support to people living in Birmingham, but the available current evidence does not identify particular Birmingham wards or a Birmingham physical site.
- The Birmingham offer is described broadly rather than by neighbourhood: eligibility and service descriptions refer broadly to people living in Birmingham, including care delivered in people’s homes. However, no service-user distribution, referral data or ward-level delivery data is available to confirm coverage across every part of the city.
- The organisation’s only clearly evidenced physical base is the Carers Hub in Oldbury, outside Birmingham. This appears to be an operational hub as well as the registered address, but does not evidence a Birmingham site.
- Crossroads is part of a Birmingham bereavement-and-wellbeing consortium with Communities in Sync, Ideal for All, KUUMBA Centre and Sandwell Advocacy. This materially extends the support network available to Birmingham residents, but the current division of delivery between consortium partners and their locations is not specified.
Additional evidence needed
- A current service map, geographic coverage list or anonymised ward-level referral/delivery data for Birmingham.
- Current Birmingham commissioning, contract or grant documentation identifying the geographical scope of Crossroads’ funded Birmingham services.
- Confirmation from Crossroads of any regular Birmingham venues used for groups, training, appointments or partnership delivery.
Areas of work
- Disability
- The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
Who they help
- Children/young People
- Elderly/old People
- People With Disabilities
How they help
- Other Charitable Activities
- Provides Advocacy/advice/information
- Provides Human Resources
- Provides Services
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
Its core intervention is sustaining the caring relationship
The organisation appears to treat the wellbeing of unpaid carers and the independence of cared-for people as inseparable. Its combination of respite, advice, training and care at home may be intended to reduce carer strain before it becomes a crisis.
Why it matters
This suggests Crossroads is not simply supplying care hours. Its distinctive role may be preventative: helping households continue caring safely and sustainably, potentially delaying hospital admission or longer-term residential care.
Show evidence
“The charity's objects are to relieve stress experienced by carers and beneficiaries in the Black Country.”
Source:Charity Commission“Services promote the wellbeing of carers and the person they care for, helping to prevent carer breakdown, hospital admission or longer term residential care.”
Source:Organisation
A blended formal-and-informal care model
Crossroads appears to operate across the boundary between regulated personal care and support for family carers, rather than specialising in only one side of the care system.
Why it matters
This may make it unusually well placed to identify when family caring arrangements are becoming fragile and to connect practical care, information and emotional support around the same household.
Show evidence
“The organisation provides CQC regulated domiciliary care and support alongside information, advice, guidance and training for carers.”
Source:Organisation“Its services include care at home, family carer respite, a carers assistance line, carer groups, day club and family carer training.”
Source:Organisation
Geographic reach may exceed its institutional identity
Although named for Sandwell and rooted in the Black Country, the organisation appears to have expanded its operating footprint into Dudley, Birmingham and surrounding areas.
Why it matters
This may indicate that Crossroads functions as a regional provider with locally differentiated access points, rather than as a narrowly Sandwell-based charity. It raises useful questions about whether service availability, partnerships and referral routes vary by place.
Show evidence
“The area of benefit is the Black Country, aligned with local authority and Primary Care Trust areas.”
Source:Charity Commission“The organisation states that it provides services throughout the whole of the Black Country and Birmingham.”
Source:Organisation
- How services are funded and whether access differs between Sandwell, Dudley, Birmingham and other Black Country areas.
- Which local health, social-care, community and carer organisations refer into or work alongside Crossroads.
- Whether support reaches carers before crisis, or mainly after needs have escalated.
Remaining uncertainties
- Referral, commissioning and partnership information by locality.
- Service volumes, waiting times and beneficiary outcomes for domiciliary care, respite, training and carer-support services.
- Evidence on the experiences and demographics of carers and cared-for people who do not access the organisation.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
We provide services throughout the whole of the Black Country and Birmingham, to promote the wellbeing of carers and the person they care for. This includes CQC regulated services of domiciliary care and support, along with information, advice, guidance and training for carers, helping to improve lives, carer breakdown, resulting in admittance to hospital or longer term residential care.
Charity objects
TO RELIEVE THE STRESS EXPERIENCED BY CARERS AND BENEFICIARIES. THE AREA OF BENEFIT SHALL BE TO BE RELIEVE IN THE AREA REFERENCED AS THE BLACK COUNTRY, WHICH FALL IN LINE WITH THE LOCAL AUTHORITY AND PRIMARY CARE TRUST, OR AND IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES TO PROVIDE SUCH CARE SUPPORT WORKERS FOR SUCH DISABLED PERSONS LIVING ALONE AS AGREED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.