Carers Trust 4all formerly Crossroads Care came into existence as the result of a story line in the 1970’s television series “Crossroads.”
Associated Television (ATV) produced a popular soap opera in the 1970’s called “Crossroads”. In 1972 one of its characters was left paralysed following a car accident. A viewer, Noel Crane, who was himself severely disabled, contacted the programme’s producer to query some of the details of their portrayal of the disability. As a result, a further character, with a permanent disability similar to Noel Crane’s, was introduced into the programme and the problems he and his family encountered were modelled on those of Noel Crane.
At one point in the story, a leading character, Meg Richardson, started a fund to pay for nursing care to relieve the families of disabled people. Subsequently, in May 1974, ATV donated £10,000 to set up a real scheme in the town of Rugby to provide such care. Because the TV series had highlighted so accurately the needs of disabled people and their families, the organisers of this pilot scheme could think of no more appropriate name than “Crossroads”. Since that time Crossroads has spread to other towns throughout England and Wales and there are now around 140 schemes in existence.
