Carers – We Hear You!
A big thank you to everyone who braved the rain to join us at our AGM! We really appreciate your support. A special shoutout goes to our Carer Panel for sharing their heartfelt insights into what it’s like to be a carer and how we’ve made a difference.
Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2024
On a rainy Thursday evening in September, York Carers Centre staff, trustees, volunteers, supporters, and carers made their way through puddle-filled streets to St. Saviourgate York Venue, located within the Central Methodist Church, for the charity’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).
This year, trustees and staff had planned something to make it a memorable event.
We Encourage. We Support. We Listen.
In everything we do, and with the support of all our teams, we make it a priority to ensure carers have their voices heard.
We actively involve carers in helping to shape the Carers Strategy for the City of York and we empower Young Carers, Young Adult Carers, and the families we work alongside to help shape the service, to make sure it is the best it can be.
We hold a quarterly Carers Action Group that brings together staff, carers, and professionals to discuss important issues around caring, and we involve carers in our ‘Ideas Space’ where they help shape new opportunities.
With this in mind, it made sense to hand over the majority of our AGM to a Question & Answer session with a panel of carers. The panel had representation from five key areas of our work: Young Carers, Young Adult Carers, Adult Carers, Substance Misuse and Gambling Carers, and Mental Health Carers.
Carers Panel – We Hear You
The panel was hosted by our Patron, Matt Harper-Hardcastle, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Next Door but One theatre group. Matt leads many of our Creative Workshops and has a wealth of experience in finding creative ways to explore emotions.
Matt guided the discussion, posing questions to the Carers Panel about their experiences of carer support, the current needs of carers, and what York Carers Centre should prioritise next. The Q&A offered thought provoking insights and reflections, and we heard about what works well and areas that need improvement.
The ‘lack of adequate respite care’ and ‘financial support for carers’ were mentioned as key areas of concern, with a suggestion that Carer’s Allowance should be increased to at least match the minimum wage.
The need for greater recognition and support from employers in the workplace was highlighted as a priority. Additionally, the call for improved and more consistent support in Higher Education and educational institutions in general was raised.
Recently, Carers Trust released the findings of a major study into the impact of caring on Young Carers’ education. Read the report here.
When it comes to what is working well for carers, it’s anything that makes life easier, eases the burden and take the pressure off families, households, and individual carers. One carer described this as “The things that take stuff off your shoulders.”
Whether it’s access to a free and flexible counselling service or a fun day of pizza and tree-climbing at Go-Ape, carers are seeking a much-needed break from their caring responsibilities.
One carer said that we are there to lighten the load when they “feel guilty for taking time away from the person they care for”.
Carers on the panel recognised that wellbeing sessions allowed them to “feel safe and to know I’m not on my own”.
Matt said, what resonates with him is the common sentiment among carers that York Carers Centre “just get it!”
The panel discussed their experiences with our services, highlighting how the flexibility allowed them to “dip in and out” as needed and said “you can access whatever you need and in whatever capacity you need it.”
One carer said “you get to see all your friends and… eat! You go from stress to fun!”
There are lots of ideas for us to consider, including ways to raise awareness of our work, expand the Carers Discount Card, and create more opportunities for carers to attend activities with the person they care for.
At the end of the Q&A session, when the audience was invited to ask questions, a young man made a powerful statement. He said, “If it wasn’t for the carers’ counselling and the Young Carers and Young Adult Carers service, I wouldn’t be here right now.” We understood the magnitude of what he said.
As we stepped back out into the puddles after eating our sandwiches, networking and wrapping up the event, we were reminded that the voices of carers are, and always will be, our most valuable source of feedback and inspiration.
