Challenging times affect us all – but that doesn’t mean you have to manage alone.
Your professional body may not be an instinctive port of call if you need support in your personal life.
But that’s exactly where you should turn, because there are so many ways that we can help.
The Chemists’ Community Fund is here for all RSC members, and your families – whatever your current circumstances, whatever your path through life so far.
The Chemists’ Community Fund is a completely confidential service. To get in touch, use our online form or phone 0800 084 3451 (UK Freephone) or +44 1223 853549 (International).
Here's how we can support you with daily living:
Your mental health
→ Wellbeing and listening service: if negative emotions are interfering with your daily life, it’s time to call on us for support. This confidential line is open 8am - 8pm Monday to Friday.
→ Addiction support: it might be a colleague, a friend, a family member, or yourself. We offer support to those with dependency issues in the form of self-help guides and sessions that can be the start of taking back control.
→ Counselling support: knowing that someone is listening can make a big difference to how you feel. Lots of people find counselling invaluable – we can provide a simple self-referral option, to give you easy access to support when waiting lists or costs are getting in the way of you feeling better.
→ Workshops: we offer a programme of workshops to help you look after your wellbeing and finances.
→ Helping you through bereavement: we can offer guidance and support with the emotions and life changes that come with losing someone. We can connect you to specialist guidance, as well as financial, legal and volunteer support.
Care, carer, housing and equipment support
→ Home adaptations: specialist equipment allows life to be lived to the full, but finding the money for things like stair lifts, ramp installation and changes to your home is not always simple. We can make this easier.
→ Funding for mobility aids: we can offer grants that contribute towards equipment that allows you or a family member to move around easily.
Watch our video for more info: Mobility and disability support
→ Care home or at home top-up grants: if you or your partner receive local authority funding for care costs and need extra funds, these grants can help you.
Watch our video for more info: Support with care home top-up fees
→ Sheltered housing support: if you are looking for sheltered housing or assisted living accommodation, we may be able to help you with securing a housing association home to suit your needs.
→ Funding for respite breaks: we can help cover the costs associated with respite breaks for you or your family.
→ Grants for carers: many of you will be balancing caring responsibilities with a full-time job, and we don’t want anyone to miss out on attending career-building scientific events. You can apply towards the cost of care that you usually provide.
→ Accessibility grants: the opportunity to attend chemistry-related meetings, conferences and workshops should be open to everyone. The accessibility grant provides support towards equipment that means you can attend, additional travel expenses or to allow someone to travel with you.
Autism support
We can refer you to our partners at the National Autistic Society who provide expert advice and help, pre-and post-diagnosis, for you, or for family members including children on the autistic spectrum.
They provide our members with:
- e-diagnosis support
- specialist behaviour advice
- becoming a member of the National Autistic Society
- Parent-to-parent support
- Education and exclusions advice
- Transitions support
- e-befriending
Speak to us about autism support
Health and wellbeing
→ Health contacts: there are lots of ways we can help you with maintaining good health – physically, mentally and emotionally. Ask us about impartial advice, resources and information for your road to recovery.
→ Resilience workshops: come to a resilience workshop, if you would like to better understand the signs and symptoms of mental ill health, and learn how to connect with people you might feel worried about.
→ Talking Chemistry World: a CD or USB spoken version of the monthly magazine is available to request if you or a family member find reading the print version difficult.
→ Wellbeing books: if you prefer to research independently, there are books in Burlington House library on a range of different well-being topics. You can either look at these in the library or have them sent out to you.
Our volunteer network
→ A friendly visit or call: our trained volunteers, who are all RSC members, support other members by coming to visit them at home or arranging regular phone calls.
→ Keeping in touch with chemistry: if your current situation is causing you to miss out on developments in your field of the chemical sciences, we can link you up with other RSC members who will keep you connected.
→ Help with applications: we can provide a trained volunteer to help you gather what we need to guide you to the most appropriate form of support if you need that help.
Get in touch
Our support is as unique as your situation.