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We know that being a carer requires a huge amount of strength and resilience.  In March we met with a number of carers to hear about their caring experiences.  We hope that their stories will help others understand what it is like to be a carer, how we can support them, and reassure those who are new to caring that they are not alone.

A huge thank you to Tess, Safaa, Barbara, Nick and Valerie who all gave up their time to talk to us!

Tess filling out a form after our interview

Safaa and Paul

Barbara with our director Sue

On 18th November, 12 carers joined us on a trip to the Christmas Market on the South Bank.  Starting at the Royal Festival Hall, carers wandered between the food stalls, lights, gift kiosks and other attractions soaking up the atmosphere.

We had some lovely feedback that carers really enjoyd the opportunity to spend time together and the experience of doing something different, with several people saying they had not been to Central London for a long time and enjoyed the day out.

Our favourite quote was from Kelly, who told us ‘Thanks for a lovely afternoon last week.  I had such a great time and I couldn’t stop smiling all day.  It was so nice to meet some lovely people as I never get out of the house usually. I really appreciated it and definitely needed it, I’m looking forward to attending more in the future.’

We’re already planning more trips, but in the meantime, why not come along to one of our Christmas lunches on 12th and 13th of December? Email viktoria@carerslewisham.org.uk to find out more.

We are calling on supporters to nominate Carers Lewisham to win a £1,000 festive financial boost as part of Benefact Group’s annual 12 days of giving Christmas campaign.

It’s quick, easy and free to do and nominations are open from now until 15th December.

Winners are drawn at random and the more times Carers Lewisham is nominated, the more chance we have of being selected.

Mark Hews, Group CEO of Ecclesiastical, said: “Benefact Group is the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest. Owned by a charity, all of its available profits go to good causes, and the more the group grows, the more the group can give.  Our Movement for Good Awards has helped thousands of charities across the UK and we’re asking people to nominate a cause they care about.”

Click here to nominate Carers Lewisham.

We’re excited that Working for Carers, our project to support carers into employment, has been shortlisted for an ERSA award.  The project, which is a partnership between Carers Trust, Camden Carers Service, Harrow Carers and Redbridge Carers Support Service, has been shortlisted for Community Partnership of the Year.

Elizabeth Taylor, CEO of ERSA, said ‘To have made the shortlist is a particular honour and represents the heroes – many of them unsung heroes – of our sector. Reading the entries has been a humbling and inspiring experience.’

Winners will be announced at the end of November, so watch this space!

At the end of July, Cathy Collymore, Carers Lewisham’s longest-standing member of staff, retired after over 20 years supporting local people.  As a central part of our information and advice team, Cathy brought tremendous wisdom and knowledge to the role.  So we were delighted that so many people that Cathy has worked with and supported over the years came to say farewell and celebrate her retirement with us.  Cathy has been a hugely valued and much-loved member of staff, and although we will all miss her, we wish her all the very best for a long and happy retirement.

At the end of May, 6 young people attended our Young Carers Reference Group to talk about being visible, valuable and supported – reflecting the themes of this year’s national Carers’ Week and Lewisham Council’s current consultation on its new Carers Implementation Plan.

At the meeting young carers told us about the range of activities they do, from giving medication to taking their siblings to school. There were lots of similarities with the types of tasks they identified adults as doing, showing the level of responsibility some young carers are taking.  Importantly they also identified some of the things that would make them feel better about being a carer.  These included homework, study clubs, a tutor or mentor and general support from schools.  They also identified support in the form of money, vouchers and some kind of discount card as potentially valuable.  Young carers also wanted time to have a break from caring responsibilities, including trips and residentials – with lots of ideas for future activities for our young carers services.  At the meeting, young carers also talked about how their role gets recognised, providing valuable insights into how we can identify other young people who need support in future.

We would like to thank everyone who gave up their time to attend and for sharing their experience and insights with us.