Carolynne Hunter, a 50-year-old project lead for the charity Pamis who lives in Stirlingshire, Scotland, faced annual electricity bills of up to £17,000 to keep her 13-year-old daughter Freya alive. In response, Ms Hunter launched an online fundraising appeal in late 2022. Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet donated £17,000 directly to the campaign after following Ms Hunter’s public efforts to highlight the pressures faced by unpaid carers.
A mother whose daughter depends on life-support equipment around the clock has started a national fundraising campaign to help other families struggling with high energy bills. The move comes a year after Hollywood actress Kate Winslet stepped in to pay off her own rising energy costs. Freya has severe and complex health needs. She is non-verbal and blind, and depends on a constant oxygen supply and nursing care at home around the clock. Local council officials warned that running the medical equipment Freya needs, along with heating their home in Tillicoultry, would cause their energy bills to rise sharply.
The organisation provides care at home, hospital support teams and hospice services for babies, children and young people up to the age of 21. In December 2022, both Ms Hunter and Freya became ill with winter illnesses. Freya remained in hospital until February 2023.
Ms Hunter also revealed that she had recently been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Kate saw me campaigning the governments and wanted to donate to me to help with my energy bills, so GoFundMe contacted me and helped me set up a GoFundMe page so she could,” Ms Hunter told the Press Association. Ms Hunter said the celebrity donation gave her family greater financial security, but thousands of other carers still lack reliable support. “I worked with GoFundMe to set up a fundraiser to support families this Christmas who are in a similar situation to me last year to hopefully raise money to help them with their bills, but whilst doing that, it can also give me a platform again to start talking a bit more widely about what the UK Government had promised last year in terms of a social tariff,” she said. “When you’re looking after a child like Freya, it’s just complete intensive care constantly, you don’t get a break,” Ms Hunter told the Press Association. “I have recently been diagnosed with complex Post-traumatic stress disorder and that will be common among other families, that is just the way it is,” she said.
Money raised through Ms Hunter’s new GoFundMe campaign is being directed to Children’s Hospices Across Scotland. Speaking to the Press Association news agency, Ms Hunter explained how the original donation came about and why she decided to keep campaigning for other families. “This then went viral and many more kind people donated too. Social tariffs are discounted rates for essential household services, such as gas, electricity and broadband. They are designed to help low-income households and people whose medical needs require large amounts of electricity. The physical and emotional demands of providing intensive medical care at home became especially difficult shortly after the donation. Freya was admitted to hospital with severe flu, while Ms Hunter was treated for pneumonia. Speaking to the Press Association about that period, Ms Hunter explained that keeping the house warm was important for their recovery, but the experience also placed a lasting strain on her. “As much as I have support to look after Freya, she is ultimately my responsibility and I am on call constantly. She believes the condition is common among family carers who provide full-time care and deal with medical emergencies without enough wider support.