Participant Group: Young and adult carers

Carers Week 2016: Winchester & District Young Carers

Posted on October 13, 2021 by - Blogs

art space Winchester 2016

For Carers Week 2016 Create is celebrating its amazing carer friendly partner organisations. Today we’d like to introduce you to Winchester & District Young Carers (WDYC), who we’ve worked with since 2015 on two art:space programmes.

WDYC supports young people who take on caring responsibilities for an unwell or disabled family member. It provides respite activities, support groups, one-to-one sessions and family support. A dedicated schools worker also provides weekly lunchtime drop-ins, one-to-one sessions and advocacy in all the Winchester Secondary Schools.

Create’s art:space programme, funded by British Land, provides the opportunity for young carers to develop creative thinking through art forms including film, animation and dance. The workshops enable them meet other young carers and develop social skills including teamwork and communication, gain self-confidence and self-esteem, and have fun.

“All the staff and artists have been great, very committed and organised. They make working in partnership very easy.”

Anna hutchings, WDYC

A partnership with Whiteley Shopping, art:space Winchester culminated last night in a celebration of the young carers’ work, including their dance performance and the screening of a film and animations that they created earlier in the year. This enabled them to share their achievements with friends, family and the wider public, absolutely fitting during during Carers Week.

Nicky Goulder, Chief Executive of Create, said the peformance was a great success: “It was an absolute pleasure to see the young carers performing their original dance piece and sharing the surreal films they had made. They had clearly been inspired by the “Who Am I?” theme and their visits to Whiteley Shopping Centre and I loved seeing how much they enjoyed performing – and how proud they and their families were. The Deputy Mayor of Winchester presented them with certificates and thanked them not just for their inspiring performance but for the work they do in their role as carers. It was a privilege to share such a special evening with this exceptional group of young people and a fitting celebration of their talents and creativity during Carers Week.”

Meet Cara

Research conducted by Carers Trust shows that although 55% of young carers are proud of the role they fulfil, 44% feel tired and 48% feel stressed because of their responsibilities. art:space has been designed to provide young carers with a much-needed creative and social outlet, giving them vital “me time” away from their caring responsibilities.

Cara (not her real name) helps her mum care for her older sister, who has brain damage, epilepsy, learning difficulties and scoliosis. She has recently taken part in art:space and told us about her caring role and what creativity means to her:

“My sister has the learning age of a 4-6 year old although she’s actually 20, so I play with her, keep her happy, help her get changed and give her medicine. It’s difficult to get away because I spend a lot of time with my sister, otherwise I’m leaving my mum alone and she needs my help.

“As young carers, we have more responsibilities than other people our age. It’s out of the norm because we look after someone who traditionally we wouldn’t have to look after. Siblings without caring responsibilities don’t dress each other or help each other eat as they develop into young adults. It has made me grow up a lot quicker. I would say that I’ve probably been in hospital more times than other young people because of my sister’s health and that has been quite scary.

“Being creative makes me really happy. It gives me a chance to get away from the stress, even if it’s just for a little while. Create’s workshops have enabled me to have fun with my friends and learn something new together. When it’s stressful at home, I come and do this three-day workshop and it takes my mind off it.”

Anna from WDYC

Anna Hutchings, Activities and Support Coordinator at WDYC, said: “We’ve worked with Create to provide the young people with three day workshops in photography, music, animation and film making. All of them have been very successful, they have given the young carers a much needed break and the chance to learn new skills whilst making friends and building confidence.

“As an organisation we have really enjoyed working with Create. All the staff and artists have been great, very committed and organised. They make working in partnership very easy as they are very flexible and communicative every step of the way. We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them.”

For more information on WDYC head to their website.

This article is from 2016.

art space Winchester 2016

CARERS WEEK 2016: WINCHESTER & DISTRICT YOUNG CARERS

Carers Week 2016: Carers Support Merton

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - Blogs

Carers Support Merton
Carers Support Merton

CARERS WEEK 2016: CARERS SUPPORT MERTON

For Carers Week 2016 Create is celebrating its amazing carer friendly partner organisations. Today we’d like to introduce you to Carers Support Merton (CSM) – a charity providing support, advice and respite to young and adult carers – which we’ve worked with since 2012 on programmes for unpaid carers of all ages. Here we highlight the support that CSM offer adult carers in particular, and our collaborative arts programme, creative:voices.

The needs of adult carers using CSM’s services are addressed by its Adult Carers Team: staff who offer information, support and advice. CSM’s Adult Carers Team provides a range of support services: delivering free training and workshops on carers’ rights; helping carers with benefits entitlement and financial difficulty; existing as mediators between carers and agencies; and providing young adult carers with access to education, training and work. Emotional support through a Counselling Service and therapies is also available on a one-to-one basis, with CSM facilitating a space in which adult carers’ views are listened to and concerns and experiences can be shared.

CSM’s group respite activities enable adult carers to take time away from their caring responsibilities; days out, monthly walking and book clubs, social events, and engagement in cultural activities all provide an opportunity to unwind and relax in the company of others.

This is where Create’s relationship with CSM lies: our creative:voices multi-arts project has been integrated into this array of respite activities which, through their interactive nature, enable adult carers to develop new relationships and skills. creative:voices has brought CSM’s adult carers together to explore a variety of art forms, with sessions in creative writing and storytelling, illustration, jewellery making and photography.

According to an NHS report, caring responsibilities are shown to have an adverse impact on the physical and mental health, education and employment potential of those who care, which can result in significantly poorer health and quality of life outcomes. creative:voices offers an enjoyable, stress-free environment away from potential strains to a carer’s health. Research has evidenced that a higher frequency of engagement with arts and culture is generally associated with a higher level of subjective wellbeing (Arts Council England 2014).

Meet Harriet

Harriet (not her real name) has been attending CSM for 13 years. Last year, she took part in our creative:voices storybook writing and illustration workshops. She talked to us about her caring role and time on the project:

“I started attending Carers Support Merton for support reasons, really, so I knew that I would be linked with people who happen to be in a similar situation. There is the opportunity here to learn from each other by knowing each other and an opportunity for friendships with other families with special needs/issues. My son has autism, which means he does need, or has needed in the past, quite a bit of supervision and organisation. Finding things for him to do in the holidays is more complex so it’s useful to be here and to get information, which I would not otherwise know about.

“I was told about the creative:voices project by a staff member and they asked if I would like to join it. The workshops have been very high quality and I’m very impressed with how organised it has been.

I haven’t done anything like this project before. It has made me realise that, even after so many years of having so many commitments with our children, it is still possible for us to do stuff like this! It’s a confidence builder and it’s very welcome in our lives. If another project like this comes up I’ll be going.

“Create’s artists have given us a great deal of encouragement, and they have given us all these strategies for how to make a children’s book. Actually to be able to try it out for yourself, make a book of your own, is very useful.

“What I’ve loved about the project is that it’s so diverse and there is such a scope for your own individual creative thinking. It’s also really good to work with someone else and share their ideas; their ideas are good for you and your ideas might be good for them. The workshops give me a sense of satisfaction because you end up with something that you have actually devised and created yourself, along with the other person you have been working with. It’s rewarding.

“Projects like this are really important because we all get together, not necessarily to talk to each other but to do something really useful like this. It gives us an objective. Some people are creative, some people have talents they didn’t know they have. I think that all these projects should be really encouraged everywhere where there are people who perhaps don’t find it that easy. It gives people something different to do and an opportunity to discover new talents.”

For more information on Carers Support Merton head to their website.

Create celebrates Carers Week 2016

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - Blogs

carers week 2016

CREATE CELEBRATES CARERS WEEK 2016

Carers Week takes place from 6–12 June 2016. This annual campaign aims to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges that carers face and recognise the contribution that the 6.5 million carers in the UK make to their families and communities.

People can find themselves needing help for many reasons. They could have been born with a disability or had an accident, have an illness or disease or have poor physical or mental health.

Becoming a carer isn’t always a conscious decision – many people would say they are just being a mum, dad, wife, husband, friend or neighbour. Caring might involve helping get someone dressed, turning them in their sleep, helping them use the toilet or administering medication. Carers also help with things like shopping, laundry, cleaning, cooking, filling in forms or managing money.

Caring for someone can strengthen relationships, help you learn new skills, realise your potential and be fulfilling and life-affirming. But evidence shows caring can also cause ill health, poverty and social isolation. When caring is unsupported and intensive it can be difficult to keep a job, sleep well, live a healthy lifestyle and dedicate time to friends and family. Statistics show that three out of five of us will become carers at some point in our lives.

This year Carers Week is celebrating Carer Friendly Communities and asking organisations to commit to supporting carers. Carer Friendly Communities are places where carers feel supported to look after their family or friends and are recognised as individuals with needs of their own.

In 2015/16 Create ran multi-arts programmes with almost 500 young and adult carers. We are committed to continuing to deliver free participatory creative arts workshops with carers across the UK, providing a social and creative outlet, boosting wellbeing and enabling peer-support.

Shilpa, an adult carer who took part in one of our projects, said: “Being a carer is hard work. You’re forever thinking about the other person and not looking after yourself. When you’re caring for someone who’s health is getting worse, it’s hard because you’re losing someone. I used to be a dressmaker, I made cushions, cardigans, everything, and I used to be a keen baker. When you look back at it, I have led a very creative life but nowadays my mind is preoccupied with caring so I’ve forgotten these things about myself. I wasn’t thinking clearly before but Create has opened my eyes and woken me up.”

During Carers Week we’ll be celebrating some of the partner organisations that we collaborate with to deliver creative programmes for carers. These organisations have a hugely positive impact on the communities where they work, despite an increasingly difficult financial environment, and we’d like to thank them all for their life changing work.

Keep an eye on our blog and social media for a profile of a different Carer Friendly partner organisation each day this week. You can find more information about Carers Week on the campaign’s website.

Nicky Goulder, Founding Chief Executive

Winchester young carers put their imaginations in motion

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - Blogs

Winchester 2016
Winchester 2016

WINCHESTER YOUNG CARERS PUT THEIR IMAGINATIONS IN MOTION

Earlier this month, our professional artist Chloe Cooper – who has exhibited at the ICA and Tate Modern – worked with 10 young carers from Winchester & District Young Carers to produce a collection of short animated films.

Through sharing imaginative ideas, they pieced together their own 2D worlds to put in motion, igniting their creative thinking and forging friendships along the way. art:space was delivered in partnership with Whiteley Shopping Centre thanks to funding from British Land.

During a series of workshops, Chloe guided the group through the essentials of stop-motion animation, introducing the motif of ‘Who I Am’ as a thematic seed from which the young carers’ ideas could bloom. Taking creative control, the young people crafted characters and storyboards inspired by their personal interests, overdubbing voiceovers and audio effects to add further dynamism to the pieces. Photographing their scenes frame-by-frame, their stories came to life, with the sessions producing inspired (and somewhat surreal!) creations. With the young carers’ imaginations free to roam, we stepped into worlds where talking pizzas narrowly escape the tyranny of a ‘Zebra of Doom’, and transportational vortexes lure festival-goers into entrapping video game-worlds. Embracing the group’s sense of humour and gift for the fantastical filled the sessions with positivity, making for three fun-filled days of creativity during the Easter holidays.

75% of carers struggle to maintain relationships with family and friends due to the stress their caring roles can entail. Our art:space programme provides young carers with a chance to balance their caring responsibilities with time to pursue their own creative interests, enabling them to build new skills and supportive relationships. Young carer, Laurence commented on the workshops: “I was able to put my creativity to the test and to create a great animation! I have never done animation before but I have certainly developed new skills. I felt that my thoughts and opinions were listened to”.

Matthew Bourne curtain raiser 2016

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - Blogs

matthew bourne curtain raiser 2016
matthew bourne curtain raiser 2016

MATTHEW BOURNE GIVES 20 YOUNG CARERS A LIFE-CHANGING DANCE EXPERIENCE

2016 has started in an astonishing way for 20 young carers (and therefore me!).

For the second year running, we have collaborated with our recently knighted Patron Sir Matthew Bourne OBE to bring these young carers from across London together to create and perform a Curtain Raiser. They spent six extraordinary days working alongside professional dancers Michela Meazza and Luke Murphy from Matthew’s New Adventures. During this time, they transformed into a dance company, choreographing their own five minute piece entitled Dreams, which opened last night’s showing of Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty at Sadler’s Wells.

It was amazing to see these young people, many of whom had never danced before, working as a dance troupe, building trusting relationships with other young carers and soaring in confidence: “I felt less shy and more able to take on the challenge by being the person I am.” All of them spend a significant amount of time caring for an unwell or disabled family member, with little time to consider their own personal ambitions. These caring responsibilities can last for more than 50 hours a week, longer than most full-time jobs.

matthew bourne curtain raiser 2016

One of the young carers, Shannan (15), told The Guardian that on a typical day when she was caring for her granddad she would feed him, sort his clothes, give him his insulin injection and take him to hospital for further treatment. She started caring for him when she was just nine years old. The amount of pressure and stress that carers face can affect their own mental and physical wellbeing; they often miss out on their education (“would you go to school if the person you loved most needed you at home?”); and they can struggle to build and maintain friendships. Being able to offer them an opportunity to express themselves, release tension and have time with likeminded peers is central to Create’s mission of improving the happiness and wellbeing of vulnerable people. As Shannan told me, “It has built my confidence, I have made new friends and I can now work in a team and share ideas.”

By the end of the six day residency, these young carers were true professionals, beaming with pride, holding their heads high and delivering an imaginative, moving, polished performance to a packed house at Sadler’s Wells, arguably the leading dance venue in the country.

matthew bourne curtain raiser 2016

As Rebecca, who also took part in 2015, commented, “Some professional dancers spend most of their lives working their way up to the top to be able to perform on the Sadler’s Wells stage and I have performed there with Create twice – before the age of 16!”

After the performance, our young dancers partnered with New Adventures dancers for a bucket collection, which raised an incredible £1,423. If you too would like to ensure that other young carers have access to opportunities like this, please support us.

I’m immensely proud of what these 20 exceptional young people were able to achieve within one week and hope that this experience will inspire them to continue pursuing their dreams.

Nicky Goulder, Founding Chief Executive

Read The Guardian’s article about the project.

Watch BBC London’s coverage of the story in their afternoon broadcast and evening broadcast.

matthew bourne curtain raiser 2016

Young carers create films and photographs at iconic old vinyl factory in Uxbridge

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - News

HILLINGDON YOUNG CARERS 2015
HILLINGDON YOUNG CARERS 2015

YOUNG CARERS CREATE FILMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS AT ICONIC OLD VINYL FACTORY IN UXBRIDGE

During summer 2015, we worked in partnership with Hillingdon Carers to give a group of young carers in Uxbridge the chance to take part in an inspiring film-making and photography project at EMI’s former site, the Old Vinyl Factory.

Drawing inspiration from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other bands whose records were produced on-site, the young people reimagined themselves as rock stars complete with outfits provided by Hillingdon Carers.

Under the guidance of our professional photographer Tracey Fahy, the young carers photographed one another to create a collection of surreal and highly stylised images. After photographing themselves alongside 2D images, 3D objects and in the factory itself, they then printed and collaged their photos to produce a series of fun and playful images that convey a vivid sense of humour and demonstrate a range of sophisticated techniques.

HILLINGDON YOUNG CARERS 2015

After a short break, the young carers returned to the Old Vinyl Factory with our professional filmmaker Aoife Twomey. In the film that they created, one young carer discovers a swirling portal in the wall of the factory and finds himself transported into a bizarre new dimension inhabited by floating people, sinister hidden creatures and dragons. To create the effect of a new dimension, the young people worked together to write a plot, experiment with techniques including projections, and develop digital editing skills.

During September, the young carers shared their work at an exhibition in Uxbridge Library. Young carers have been described as “Britain’s hidden workforce,” and this exhibit, held at a cultural hub within their community, allowed them to assert their presence and share their unique perspective with other Londoners.

Sixteen year old Gabriella (not her real name) told us: “Thank you so much for this fun opportunity to experience a unique project. I’ve learnt lots of new skills to help me with my photography career and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you guys.”

HILLINGDON YOUNG CARERS 2015

Meet Sophie

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - Stories

Sophie
Sophie

MEET SOPHIE

Young carer Sophie was a participant in one of our projects. This is her story.

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Meet Maxine

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - Stories

creative release - meet Maxine
creative release - meet Maxine

MEET MAXINE

Earlier this year, we returned to Newham with our project for adult carers, creative:release. (This article is from 2015.)

Under the expert guidance of our professional jewellery designer Hayley Kruger, the adult carers began the project by creating unique pieces of bespoke jewellery, inspired by their visit to the V&A‘s What is Luxury exhibition.

At a time when eight out of ten carers feel lonely or isolated because of their caring role, the social interaction that projects like these allow carers can mean everything. Full-time carers can often feel marginalised from their communities and can feel ignored by society. creative:release gives them the chance to express their individuality through creativity and get support from other carers in similar situations.

“When you’re looking after someone, your whole life changes. It’s a luxury to be able to go out and do something.”

Maxine

Since taking part last year, one of the carers, Maxine, has begun creating jewellery in her spare time, allowing her to express her personality and relax in the small amount of time she gets to herself. Maxine has been caring for her husband who was diagnosed with throat cancer six years ago. He has received heavy doses of chemotherapy and is in remission from the cancer but has not overcome the side effects of the chemotherapy.

Maxine helps him with bathing, taking medication, preparing his food (which often times needs to be pureed as swallowing is difficult). We sat down with Maxine and asked what luxury means to her.

“When I think of luxuries, I think of jewels, fancy clocks, intricate music boxes, and sparkly things. We saw lots of those in the V&A’s What is Luxury? exhibition. My favourite piece was the music box decorated with a monkey – I would have liked to take that home! As we walked round the exhibition, we were given the task of taking photos of the pieces that we liked so that gave us confidence.

“The more we explored the exhibition, the more we were able to pick out the details in what we were seeing. As I looked round, I thought ‘Things were more well-made in the past!’ We’ve got gadgets now to make things for us, so we have more things but they don’t last for as long. It’s ironic really. To me, luxury is not defined by money. It’s not how expensive something is. Luxury means having nice things to make your life more comfortable.

“Time is my biggest luxury. When you’re looking after someone, your whole life changes. It’s a luxury to be able to go out and do something. As a carer, you might plan a day out but then the person you care for might wake up in the morning not feeling well and you’ve got to adjust.”

Young carers celebrate Carers Week 2015 with exhibition

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - News

Winchester young carers exhibition 2015
Winchester young carers exhibition 2015

YOUNG CARERS CELEBRATE CARERS WEEK WITH EXHIBITION

On Thursday 11 June 2015, young carers – and their families – from Winchester & District Young Carers attended the launch of their exhibition Let the Sun Shine on Me at Winchester Discovery Centre.

Let the Sun Shine on Me is a collection of stunning photographs that the young people produced with our photographer. Launched during Carers Week 2015, it celebrates their creative achievements and raises the profile of the issues they face. Funded by British Land, the project began with a series of workshops led by our professional photographer Alicia Clarke.

After exploring how to use high quality digital cameras, the young carers set off to photograph Winnall Moors and Whiteley Shopping Centre. Using their pictures as inspiration, they then worked collaboratively with our musicians Aga Serugo-Lugo and Emily Allen. Choosing sunshine and friendship as their themes, they wrote lyrics and music, which they later performed to a public audience in Whiteley’s town square.

“I liked that we were all able to listen to each other’s ideas,” said one of the carers, aged 14, “I don’t usually feel able to share things with people so that felt really good. I think we were all really nervous about performing in front of everyone but excited at the same time. I felt really proud of myself for taking part. I’m not that confident so being able to say that ‘I did that’ feels amazing.”

According to the most recent Census, the number of young carers in Hampshire rose by 24.5% between 2001 and 2011. Over two thirds of young carers are bullied at school and over 50% do not feel that they receive support, which makes Create’s workshops, which encourage teamwork, friendship and peer-to-peer support, so vitally important.

Also marking Carers Week, nearby restaurant Brasserie Blanc treated the young carers to a two course menu designed by celebrity chef Raymond Blanc. A spokesperson for the restaurant said, “We are delighted to be able to support Winchester’s young carers by donating a meal during Carers Week. Young carers miss out on a lot due to their caring responsibilities, so we are honoured to be in a position where we can treat them to something special. We wish them the best of luck with their exhibition at the Discovery Centre.”

Meet Ginny

Posted on October 12, 2021 by - Stories

carers week 2015
carers week 2015

MEET GINNY

Create supports the UK’s young and adult carers throughout the year with free access to high-quality creative workshops led by professional artists. For Carers Week 2015, we’re introducing you to some of the carers that we’ve worked with and how they’ve benefited from our programmes.

Ginny, 51, is an adult carer from Merton. She took part in Create’s programme to help adult carers use their own life experiences to inspired poetry and prose.

“The project caught my eye because I had all these thoughts, feelings and emotions that I felt people didn’t really understand. I thought it would be good to come along and share experiences with people who did. The day before the project started I telephoned to see if they had any spaces left – I had put it off for ages because I lacked the courage to do it earlier. Sometimes it’s hard to lift your horizons from day to day. My first caring responsibilities coincided with the breakup of my marriage: my daughter had a major psychotic breakdown. I was absolutely devastated. It was very difficult, having two things going on and having to support my son as well. I was the main breadwinner. I knew that something was wrong with my daughter but it suddenly went from bad to worse, from out-of-character behaviour to hearing voices, self-harm, thinking she was being poisoned or being watched by MI5/MI6. At my lowest moment I honestly thought, because I was so sleep deprived and I wasn’t getting any support, that it might be best if I killed myself and her to stop the suffering so much.

“once you’ve lost your sense of self, if you can’t carry on, what’s going to happen to the person you care for?”

ginny

“My daughter being admitted to hospital was the turning point. Nine months later she came home and the battle began. Ever since then I have been her main carer. We’re in it together, we call ourselves the A team and we have no secrets. She is doing really well at the moment. The workshops have been inspirational. I have been stunned by some of the work that the group has produced and these are just ordinary women like myself. It makes you want to carry on. I feel like every night now I have a new idea for a poem. I loved hearing about other people’s experiences too and the way they express things. You feel really humbled when you listen to others: everyone has come from different backgrounds, different places, different experiences and we’ve got this one thing in common.

“In a way Create’s programmes allow us to celebrate being a carer as well as saying, “Oh God, isn’t it rubbish?” We could never have done this without Cheryl [Create’s writer] and her expertise. She was always well prepared and knew how to get the best out of us. She encouraged us and gave us guidance on how to do it better. The amazing collective poem – that really sparked my creativity. I learnt so much. Even with our presentation at the end, I had never thought that you could read poetry and make it come alive with sound and the way you present it. It has been a steep learning curve but we never felt out of our depth, we never felt we were going to be laughed at. Create gave us the confidence to try.

“The project has definitely changed me: I feel more positive and I see everyday life differently. Negativity and bad experiences can be made into positive ones when you’ve got time to reflect. When you are writing, you are distanced from the immediate emotion so that gives you a bit of space. I now think: “I’m a carer, I’m proud of being a carer, this is what my experience is and actually I’m also a writer!” I may be an amateur, I may not be brilliant but I don’t care. I’d not done anything like this since primary school. It’s more relaxing than a leisurely bath because you’re getting your emotions out and, whilst you feel spent at the end of the morning, it’s good because things aren’t pent up. It’s also given me the courage to address issues with the person I am caring for: I’ve shared some of the poems with my daughter which has led to us having a much more open dialogue about things.

“Projects like this are essential for carers, especially now, when services are so strapped for cash. The cost of care would be much higher if carers opted out and said “I’m not doing this anymore.” Create told us, “Yes, you are valued and you have other talents to discover too”. This is really important, because once you’ve lost your sense of self, if you can’t carry on, what’s going to happen to the person you care for?”

GOLDEN GIRL

Yellow Mellow summer sunset illuminates the heart of my home and the Goddess in my kitchen. Halo of white, fluttering eyelashes framing golden amber eyes, soft against olive sun-kissed cheeks. Golden Girl, trembling flashing blade held in musician’s slim fingers. Razorlight, The Girl with the Golden Touch she says, ‘I would never hurt you’ My golden girl.

*name changed to protect anonymity