creative:voices is Create’s multi-artform programme that enables adult carers to take a creative break from their caring responsibilities, build trusting relationships with their peers and develop communication skills, new interests and confidence.
During September and October 2022, carers from Islington took part in six, weekly visual art workshops with our professional ceramic artist Liz Jackson.
Adult carer Renee (57) told us about her experiences.
“I have been caring for my mother for 15 years. Taking on caring responsibilities was hard because I wasn’t expecting it. I’d gone through a divorce and I’d just come home. Something happened to mum and she asked me to stay. I was self-employed but that job disappeared because I couldn’t travel up and down the country anymore.
“Mum’s doing really well, and I got her through COVID. I got COVID and she didn’t. I was so sick I thought I was going to die, so afterwards I thought: ‘I need to change the way I live.’ Now I live a short distance away [from mum] and my brothers do more to help, but I’m still the primary carer. It’s not easy.
Telling stories through art
“I have discovered that I love drawing. I now carry a little notebook with me.”
renee, adult carer
“This Create project was an opportunity to learn some new crafts. We did a range: drawing, painting, weaving and clay work. I had a lovely time. I have discovered that I love drawing, and I now carry a little notebook with me.
“I made a little feathery blue and white dreamcatcher which is now sitting in my bedroom. It’s so pretty, but it’s also a meaningful ornament. I think I need my artistry to have some sort of meaning or purpose and a dreamcatcher is a story. How did you make it? Who were you with? The story lives, in a way. I don’t have children. I think the need to create something that can outlast you is something fundamental to human nature. I like creating things from scratch.
learning to play again
“I loved the project. It’s nice meeting other carers, chatting to people and just having a little bit of time for yourself. I also loved having a chance to explore and play and do things I haven’t done since I was a kid. I was told by a teacher I couldn’t draw, so I always thought I couldn’t. I’ve certainly said to that teacher, “you were wrong! You shouldn’t be telling children that they can’t do stuff!” Why should I be good at something the first time I try it?
“Working with everyone was really good. It was a nice harmonious group. I enjoy having people to play with. It’s that simple. Playing is fun and you often don’t do it. Life can be so serious and the challenges of doing what I do and holding a job, it’s just so hard. Having somewhere where you can come and play with other people who want to play and who are having similar challenges to you is really nice.
“Following these workshops, I now meet with two people I met at [the Create project] once a month. We eat and have a cup of tea and we bring our crafts out. It doesn’t matter what it is, we’ll just bring what we like, or nothing. It’s like a knit and natter class but it’s for arts and crafters.
“We’re all in isolated little pockets”
“Working with Liz was great too. She’s absolutely lovely. The thing that I really liked about her is that she let me be the creator I wanted to be. When we did the weaving, people were using the string and the wool, and I wanted to use ribbon. She didn’t bat an eyelid. When people were making small clay pots and I made a big one, she didn’t bat an eyelid. She believes in the right of the artist to create their own work, and that’s very valuable.
“Sometimes you’re pushed in very rigid ways and you can learn a craft but you don’t own what you’ve learnt. By letting me play and create the way I wanted to, I didn’t just own the end result, I owned the process.
“Projects like this help carers with our mental health. They give us somewhere to go. There’s a lot of fear. You don’t really know what we’re suffering because we’re all in houses by ourselves. We’re all in isolated little pockets, so unless we come together, we don’t know what’s happening for other people.
This project is funded by The Smiles Fund, awarding funds from Walkers and Comic Relief.
creative:me is Create’s programme in partnership with Anthropologie. In November and December 2022, we ran projects inspired by Anthropologie’s Christmas theme of “sparkling joy”.
As part of creative:me, adult carers from Islington took part in six, weekly visual art workshops with our professional artist Rachel McGivern. The project aimed to ignite adult carers’ imaginations, offer them an escape from everyday life and a break from their responsibilities, and help them connect with others.
Adult carer Yvette told us about her experiences.
“I moved back to London for my elderly mum about eight years ago. She is 82 and although she hasn’t been diagnosed with dementia, she’s very forgetful and she just couldn’t look after herself. Particularly since the pandemic she’s taken quite a downturn in her capabilities and her confidence levels.
“She relies on me for quite a lot. She’s stopped driving, so I do all the driving. I do the cooking and the cleaning and I look after her. Before, I used to be able to go away for a night and she’d be able to heat herself up some soup, but I think that’s beyond her now. She becomes more dependent on me as we go along.
“My mum’s quite needy and if I wasn’t strict with my boundaries, she would take all of my time and energy. Making time for myself has been the biggest challenge: setting my boundaries and maintaining them. It’s one thing to set them, but to maintain them constantly is the daily challenge.
“Taking on caring responsibilities has changed my lifestyle. I work from home, which I actually really enjoy. However, I’m an introvert. I like one-on-one [interaction] with my friends and I used to go out a lot more to meet with friends and do more social things. I only do that once every couple of weeks at the most for an afternoon or an evening now. I’m much more housebound. It’s changed my life massively.
“It’s really nice to have a bit of the week that’s just mine. [The project] is a really nice environment, it’s a little outing every week I look forward to. “We’ve been doing lino printing, which has been brilliant. I’ve really enjoyed it. We’ve been printing onto fabric and painting and making lavender eye bags out of some of that fabric. I’ve learnt that it’s a step by step thing and it’s really effective. I’ve done it before but it was so many moons ago.
“When you’re at school, you’re in the habit of doing weird and interesting things in your art class but when you’re older you forget to do new things. It’s good for the brain health. I like meeting people. I really like the facilitators, I think they’re all really lovely. They’re gentle and focused, and they’re really good at confidence building. I think the group format works really well too.
I’ve worked with Create before and I’ve got a little portfolio of stuff I’ve done. It gives me a sense of wellbeing and inspires me.”
Yvette, adult carer
“I get creatively stimulated”
“I am really pleased with the work I did on lino, I get a really strong sense of satisfaction. I’ve worked with Create before and I’ve got a little portfolio of stuff I’ve done and it’s really nice to look back over it. It gives me a sense of wellbeing and it inspires me. I get creatively stimulated, I find that I go home and I’m ticking over in a way that I wasn’t ticking over before, so it will just fire up ideas. I’ll go home with my weird print and then I’ll want to make it into Christmas cards or I’ll want to make gift tags out of it or something. This year was the first year I’ve made Christmas cards in about six years and I know that it’s partly to do with feeling inspired by Create.
“Projects like this help because they allow me to have that time that’s just about me. I come back refreshed and ready to go again. It’s a bit of a recharge, a reset. Just that little moment out of each week gives me time where I’m not thinking about mum’s food or the next meal or whether she’s got clean pyjamas. I’m not thinking about any of her needs. I’m just thinking about running stitch.”
creative:me Islington was supported by Anthropologie. You can learn more about our partnership here.
creative:voices is Create’s multi-artform programme that enables adult carers to take a creative break from their caring responsibilities, build trusting relationships with their peers and develop communication skills, new interests and confidence.
During September and October 2022, carers from Harrow took part in six, weekly ceramics workshops with our professional artist Amy Leung.
Adult carer Cindy (61) told us about her experiences.
Adult carer Cindy and Create artist Amy Leung working with clay on our creative:voices Harrow ceramics project.
“My two younger children, a 20-year-old and a 15-year-old, are both on the autistic spectrum. My 15-year-old has severe learning development and my older child is autistic but he’s high functioning and savant. Both of them have poor social skills and find it very difficult, they don’t have friends because they’re different.
“My 20-year-old also has Type 1 diabetes and I micro-manage his condition for him. I had to give up work as a school nurse because my son’s school couldn’t cope with it. I don’t get much sleep. I’m up in the middle of the night checking his diabetes because he injects about six or seven times a day. I have to weigh all of his food and calculate his insulin, so it’s pretty exhausting but it’s what I have to do and they’re my kids. I love them and I enjoy doing it, even if I’m tired.
“Projects like this help carers to meet one another because we are isolated in what we do.”
cindy, adult carer
making creativity accessible
“Taking on caring responsibilities has changed my life immensely. We don’t have much money. I’ve gone from a good wage to a carer’s allowance. It’s very hard.
“Projects like this help [carers] to meet one another because we are isolated in what we do. We’re at home a lot of the time, and because we have very little money, some of us can’t go out and socialise. It costs a lot of money to take care of children who have disabilities. Therefore, projects like this one are perfect. If I’d had to pay for it I’d really have thought twice. When I found out the project was free, I was amazed.
“The project was ceramics. We used self-hardening clay, which is brilliant because you can see the results immediately and you get a real sense of achievement. I didn’t have much experience in ceramics before. I did a little bit with my kids when I was younger, but I’ve enjoyed this more because I’m doing it for myself.
emptying our stress buckets
“I’ve enjoyed the whole experience, especially being with other people and doing a project that doesn’t mean we’re talking about our loved ones that we care for all of the time, because that doesn’t define us as people. It’s been good just talking utter rubbish. We talk about art in general, as well.
“We’ve just come into Diwali so we’ve been talking about the celebration and enjoying each other’s differences. We made diva candleholders, and the Hindu women’s painting designs on theirs were beautiful.
“Everyone got on really well and we were all encouraging each other. When you’re a carer you don’t feel you get that recognition, but here we’re all patting each other on the back. The workshop leaders have been great, very patient, very encouraging, making us feel like we’re fantastic at what we’re doing, even though we doubt ourselves. As each week has gone on, we’ve all progressed and got more confidence. You’re so engrossed in what you’re making, you tend not to dwell on the negative aspects of your life as a carer. You’re having fun, you’re in a different place and I think that’s the main objective. The project has taught me that I need to do something at home when I get time so I’m not obsessing about things that are going on in my life, with my kids, and myself and my limitations. Rather, I can do stuff if I just put my mind to it. I think it’s very important to be creative because we are such stress buckets, and I think we just need to empty our mind sometimes. We all have that potential to be creative, everybody does, no matter what it is that you’re creating.”
This project is funded by The Smiles Fund, awarding funds from Walkers and Comic Relief.
In October 2022, young carers from Crossroads Together in Cheshire took part in three days of drama workshops with Create’s professional artist Ben Mellor. The project enabled the young carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities, have fun, learn new skills, build relationships and express themselves.
Here you can read – and watch – what one of these young carers, Oliver (14), thought about the project, and Create’s work in general.
Create participants in inspired:arts drama workshop
“I care for my little siblings and a bit for my older sibling. My mum is a very busy person. She’s a single mum. I’m usually there to help watch the kids and make sure they’re okay.
“I suppose I was about seven when I started helping out with my older brother. He has autism, and I usually speak for him in public. If he’s in an uncomfortable situation I’d help him get out of it, things like that. I guess it got more [involved] when I turned about 10. My mum had my little sister, who’s now four.
“When I’m at home doing things for my family, it builds up, you wanting to do something. And when I come to Create [projects], I get to put all my energy into it and enjoy myself.
“It just feels nice to do something creative. I get to come here for three days and just enjoy myself, create something with other people.
“It just feels nice to do something creative.”
Oliver, young carer
the project
“We’ve been doing a drama workshop, working on acting and doing a little bit of musical stuff as well. It’s been really fun so far.
“I definitely enjoyed the creative writing, that was fun. It felt so fluid to keep writing. I liked the part where Ben [Create artist] pulled out different musical machines to experiment with. It was fun to bond with everyone and make some stuff together.
“I’ve learned to work with other people a lot better. When I first came to the projects, I just wanted to do my own thing, I just wanted to be like “everyone do this’; I want to do this”. But I’ve learnt to listen to people a lot more and understand what they want.
Oliver playing the guitar during a Create workshop
“I came to a different music project and it had money tied into it [click to read about change:matters]. I thought: ‘I’m just going to come for the music, the money doesn’t even matter.’ But after actually coming to the project, I learned stuff about money that I didn’t already know, and I’ve started to apply some of that. I’ve built my own savings account. After I think it was the first or second day, I went home and I was like: ‘Mum, I need to open a savings account!’
“After each project I felt like I’d done something good. I felt like I’d learnt things and really enjoyed doing all of them. I felt like young carers were missing something in the summer holidays before it. Now whenever there is a summer holiday I look forward to going to another Create [project].
“Projects like these give young carers time to be themselves, to come and enjoy themselves and be away from what they do at home.”
These projects were funded by The Chartered Accountants’ Livery Charity, The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund and The Zochonis Charitable Trust.
creative:voices is Create’s multi-artform programme that enables adult carers to take a creative break from their caring responsibilities, build trusting relationships with their peers and develop communication skills, new interests and confidence.
In September and October 2022, carers from Lewisham took part in six weeks of jewellery-making workshops with our professional artist Renata Minoldo.
Adult carer Pam (60+) told us about her experiences.
A selection of jewellery pieces created on creative:voices Lewisham
“Being a carer brings limitations to time, limitations to what you can do. you never really know what’s around the corner.”
pam, participant
“I have a son who has a physical disability. And I cared for my husband who had his own disability. He sadly passed away several months ago. So this has been absolutely a lifeline to me. Overall, I’ve been caring for 42 years, since my son was born.
“Being a carer changed my lifestyle quite a lot, but we worked as a family team, and I feel privileged having the kind of family that I had, so I was still able to achieve things and do things. But all those things were done with extreme planning and consideration. I’m not saying everything was easy, it wasn’t. But it’s about knowing there are other people out there in similar situations, that you’re not on your own. It’s a very lonely place to be sometimes.
“Being a carer brings limitations to time, limitations to what you can do. For lots of people, unfortunately, there are financial limitations. And you never really know what’s around the corner.
“An ideal, perfect time”
Participants creating jewellery at creative:voices Lewisham
“During the project I have created a bracelet, some earrings and some individualised keyrings. The keyrings are for my family members, for my daughters and grandchildren, and I’ve tried to individualise each one with a little tweak.
“I’ve definitely enjoyed the contact with other people. I’ve enjoyed looking at their creativity and ideas, and just being able to come somewhere and do something.
“In making the jewellery, I’ve learned to go with what you feel, and not to be too structured. You’ve got to be structured to a degree, but then let your creativity flow. I did feel a sense of achievement because certain elements for me I found a little bit tricky. But being shown how to do things, you can achieve. I enjoyed that.
“It was brilliant working with Renata. She’s very informative, very helpful. She shows you what to do in a way where you’re still achieving under your own steam, but she’s there to guide you verbally if you need it.
“It’s a lifeline”
“To be able to sit, be yourself and let that creativity flow is very relaxing and very self-fulfilling.”
Pam, participant
“It was absolutely brilliant working with the group. I enjoyed the company, I enjoyed listening to their ideas, listening to other things about people. It was an ideal, perfect time for me.
“It felt brilliant doing something creative, because certain elements of the creativity I didn’t know were within me. So actually to achieve something and have an end product feels really good. To be able to sit, be yourself and let that creativity flow is very relaxing and very self-fulfilling.
“It’s important to have a chance to be creative because you can show your individuality through doing projects. The main thing I’ve learnt is that for me at my time in life I need the company of people in similar situations to myself. And that I’m not actually alone. It’s nice to know you’re in a similar position. Physically you might be alone at times, but you are not alone. You’re part of a community.
“Projects like this turn you into that individual. You are who you are. You’re not just “the carer”. You’re an individual. And you can laugh, you can cry, you can share experiences, you can share your knowledge, and that’s a lifeline.”
This project is funded by The Smiles Fund, awarding funds from Walkers and Comic Relief.
Create features in Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition
Artwork by young carers from Lambeth on display at Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition at MAC Birmingham, November 2022
Last Thursday evening, a colleague and I had the privilege of attending the private view of “Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition” at Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) in Birmingham. Ahead of the public opening the following day, the event brought together dozens of incredible artists whose work – and stories – featured in Channel 4’s popular TV series during March and April 2022, hosted by acclaimed artists Grayson and Philippa Perry.
Our visual art project with a group of young carers from Lambeth was featured during the episode themed “Heroes and Heroines”. Working with our professional artist Rachel McGivern, the young people created three life size “hero(in)es”: Army Guy; Boss Girl; and Ocean Cleaner. You can read more about the project and Philippa Perry’s visit in the blog that we published back in March. Seeing their monumental artwork displayed in the exhibition alongside work by so many other artists including Grayson and Philippa Perry made me feel both proud and moved. Young carers cope with so much in their lives and it was incredibly special to see their creative talent showcased for all to witness and enjoy.
A further highlight of the evening was meeting other artists and hearing their stories. We met Juno Walker on the bus and during the evening, who told us that their powerful image Juno Moons was “like a little blueprint for my future. I’m a non-binary trans man … and I’ve been thinking a lot about what that means for me.”* Seeing their reaction to meeting Grayson was truly uplifting. We met Yvonne Haines who told us that she painted the moving picture of her mum Sun Over the Yardarm shortly before her mum moved into a care home. It is deeply personal and so full of love. I enjoyed chatting with Holly Unwin: she told us that she painted Stop kissing in public it’s mingin’ after she split up with her partner, when she got fed-up seeing public displays of affection everywhere.
Finally, it was so joyful to meet Pauline Farrar and see her glorious The Throne of Succulents, which was stunningly lit in an outside space. She explained: “I am one of the hundreds of disabled artists in the UK. I am also housebound and to combat the isolation I created a very unique garden on my doorstep.”* She continued by explaining that around 100 people a day now visit, giving her connection and conversation. “One person told me they had walked 40 minutes to visit it. I can well understand why. It is gorgeous and we only saw part of it.
In the exhibition catalogue*, Grayson writes: “One of the great purposes of art is to celebrate. … Art helps us cope. One recurring theme in the art sent in was that normal life for a lot of you is tough and making art can help you deal with difficulties, both physical and emotional. … Art is a place in our heads where we can retreat to in times of stress, a sanctuary. … Art can be an act of love. … Art is also a platform from which to broadcast opinion, garner support and express outrage.”
A brief clip of Grayson Perry addressing the audience at the launch of Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition, and a glimpse of the Create artwork
The use of art for all of those purposes was clear to see in the exhibition and the conversations we had: artists used art as a means of self-expression, as a way of coping, as a way of capturing love, as a way of expressing their outrage.
As the founder of a creative arts charity, I am passionate about the power of the creative arts to bring people together, to give people a voice, to inspire, empower and upskill people. This wonderful exhibition, of which we are so proud to be part, demonstrates so powerfully why the creative arts should be made available to everyone.
Creativity is not a nice to have; it is a vital part of who we are as individuals.
Nicky Goulder Founding CEO
Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition is open at MAC until Sunday 16 April 2023.
* Text taken from “Grayson’s Art Club The Exhibition Volume III”
In August 2022, young carers from Lambeth Carers Hub took part in a three-day dance project with Create’s professional dancer, Beth Coleman. The project enabled the young carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities, have fun, learn new skills, build relationships and express themselves.
We spoke to young carer Ruben (13) about his experience.
“The project taught me to talk to people.”
Ruben, a young carer
“I have probably been caring since I was eight years old. I care for my dad. He got into an incident a while ago and he’s been needing a bit of help, so I help him out.
“Over the last few days, we’ve been learning dance routines and creating our own moves, doing mini performances. The project was fun and very interactive. It taught me to talk to people. I asked them for their ideas, they asked for my ideas, so I actually got to socialise a lot more than usual.
“I really enjoyed the freedom we had to do what we wanted to do. I learned that you can make dance out of anything, that you can put any ideas into some sort of performance. Working with Beth was great too. She likes cooperating with people.
“I like being creative in my free time, I draw a lot at home. I think it’s important to have the chance to be creative. I hope that more children get to take part in Create projects, especially people that aren’t used to socialising, because the workshops are very interactive.”
inspired:arts Lambeth was funded by The Taylor Family Foundation.
creative:voices is Create’s multi-artform programme that enables adult carers to take a creative break from their caring responsibilities, build trusting relationships with their peers and develop communication skills, new interests and confidence.
During February to March 2022, carers from Lambeth took part in six weeks of ceramics workshops with our professional artist Sam Haynes.
Adult carer Elena told us about her experiences.
“Being with other carers gives you more energy.”
Elena, an adult carer
“I care for my son, who has some learning difficulties. His condition was very manageable at the beginning, but over the last three years he has gotten worse and as a result, there have been a lot of changes in my life. I’ve learned a lot and I feel like I can help others learn more about my son’s condition.
“During this project I got to play and make things with clay alongside other carers who were like me. I like working with clay because the texture makes it flexible, you can handmake whatever shape you like, dry it and keep it forever. It was great working with Sam too. She explained everything very well and in a simple way. Over the course of the project, I made a tile and three pots! I really enjoyed it.
Finding a safe space
“everyone is dealing with something at home. When you hear a shared experience, it helps.”
Elena, an adult carer
“It was great working with other people on the project. They were really friendly and I made friends. One of the ladies is caring for three people. I’m only caring for one. Hearing her story made me realise that there are people in more difficult situations than me. While it’s not nice, it reassures you that it’s okay because if they’re coping well, I can have some more confidence in my caring role.
“It’s nice having people who understand. You feel more open to speak about a loved one’s condition with them. You can tell them the things that you can’t tell anyone because they understand. We share our experiences and sometimes little things help. You learn a lot from other carers and they give you more energy. It sounds simple, but everyone is dealing with something at home. When you hear a shared experience, it helps. Just to share what you are dealing with helps.
Sharing your creativity
“I don’t often have the chance to do creative things. At home I struggle to keep up with chores, the children and taking them to all their activities, so there’s no time for creativity. When I have the chance, I try. This project has taught me that I can do better than expected and create some beautiful things. It’s all about trying something different, and it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. Art is just about doing something.
“When I look at all the pieces I made on this project, they look beautiful. I feel relaxed, it was a good experience. I’m excited to take them home, and to take some clay home to use with my children. We can try different things, it’s relaxing and good for your mind. We don’t always need to be rushing around and doing things. I think they will love it. I used to do art with them when they were very little, but not anymore. Now they’re grown up they are into football, but I want them to try something creative, even if it’s just a couple of hours once a week.”
creative:voices Lambeth was funded by Arts Council England
In August 2022, young carers from Sutton took part in a music project with Create’s professional artist Fernando Machado. The project enabled the young carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities, have fun, learn new skills, build relationships and express themselves.
We spoke to one of these young carers, Anya (12), about her experience.
“Once we got to know each other I became my real self.”
Anya, a young carer
“I take care of my older brother who has special abilities. He is older than me but he acts like he’s three or five years old, so I have to do everything for him. Sometimes my parents help me, but mostly if they’re busy or they’re tired I have to do everything except for the cooking.
“A normal school holiday for me means being stuck in the house caring for my brother, not allowed to go out unless it’s in the garden.
“Taking part in the project was fun, because I haven’t had the chance to do anything fun during the summer holidays so far. Usually I only get the chance to do creative activities when I’m not looking after my brother.
Working Together
“During the project we made different types of music and we all worked together to make a song. We came up with lyrics and we worked on the music, before bringing it all together at the end. I enjoyed that we all came together and worked as a team instead of doing it one by one.
“The project taught me that there are many different types of music and many different ways to make it. I was nervous because I thought we were going to sing into a microphone, but when I realised we were singing with other people I felt calm. The project also showed me that I am good at playing guitar, after taking a one-year break.
“Fernando was really fun to talk to and get to know. When he made a mistake, he just apologised and tried again. At least he owned up to his mistakes, because sometimes people pretend to know things even when they don’t.
“The rest of the group were fun to work with too. Generally, when meeting new people, I’m very quiet and shy but once we got to know each other I became more like my real self. I enjoyed being creative with others. Sometimes I don’t really have a lot of ideas, but when you hear other people’s ideas it can bring thoughts to your mind.
“Having the chance to do creative things is important because you can express yourself in different ways.”
inspired:arts Sutton was funded by Project Spark and The Taylor Family Foundation.
Since 2020 we have run several creative arts projects with participants from Enfield Carers Centre, both online and in-venue. Here Carla Brain, Young Carers Project Manager in Enfield, talks about her work with young carers and our blossoming partnership.
Watch the video below or read the full interview.
Who are you and what do you do?
I manage the young carers project at Enfield Carers Centre. We support children aged between five and 18 who have some form of caring role. We go on lots of trips. We also have mentoring programmes and support meetings to help support them.
Carla Brain from Enfield Carers Centre
It’s hard getting carers to identify themselves. It’s been estimated that one in five children and young people are young carers. If you’ve been a carer for most of your life, you think that’s probably what everyone does and you don’t realise. It’s difficult to know at what point you’ve stopped being someone’s son or daughter or brother or sister, and you’ve started caring for them.
I used to care for a family member and I didn’t realise I was a carer. I was a carer as an adult rather than a young carer. I supported my great-aunt and I’ve always been really close to her. She lived in the next road to me while I was growing up, and I used to see her on a daily basis. She used to teach me how to sew.
Then I was at university and I came back home and she’d had a stroke and needed a bit of extra support. I kind of lived with her for a bit, and it was meant to be a temporary thing. And then suddenly, she was getting worried if I left her. So then I would be staying with her all the time and I just … you don’t realise how it slips into that.
I was so shocked that there were young carers. Trying to balance it with my PhD was difficult enough, but I didn’t have to go somewhere 9am ‘til 3.30pm every day. I wasn’t going to be getting in trouble with the educational and local authority if I didn’t attend school because I needed to attend meetings or appointments with her.
“What I love about Create is that you organise everything. It’s all meticulously planned.”
Carla Brain, Enfield Carers Centre
How did you hear about Create?
At the Carers Trust Conference in 2020 Nicky [Goulder, Create CEO] was speaking about opportunities for young carers and [the charity’s] creative activities. I emailed her the second she finished her presentation and said we’d definitely be interested. We set up a meeting and, as it happened, [Create] had a place available on an online activity just a few weeks later. We brought our young carers to that and we’ve attended quite a few Create activities since.
Initially they were online due to the pandemic and then we had some in person. We’ve actually decided with our activities that we like a combination of online and in-person because different young carers find that easier. For some of them, they can’t really leave the person they care for, or it’s too difficult for them to get there, so they prefer online activities. Others prefer face to face because they’d like to have a break from their caring role. Some come to both.
Participants from Enfield Carers Centre on a photography project
The Create staff are so dedicated. For our music workshop in April, we thought about contingencies in case anyone had COVID in advance, but unfortunately the artists and the Create staff all had it. Some of the Create staff were really unwell, but they were so desperate to organise the workshop that they found us another artist and other Create staff members to come and attend. So we still managed to have the workshop, which was absolutely fantastic.
We’ve got music, photography, jewellery making and drama all booked in and coming up.
What do you think about these projects? How do you feel about them?
Create workshops are absolutely fantastic. Everything gets planned out initially. You have a planning meeting and you can discuss everything. It saves so much time. We’re quite a small organisation and we spend a lot of our time doing one-to-one support with our young carers. And it’s so fantastic to be able to have these activities over the school holidays and sometimes in the evenings after school.
We don’t have a lot of time to plan those activities. We need to look at any medical conditions, dietary requirements, have whole registers, book places, organise transport, everything. And it takes so much time to do a simple trip. What I love about Create is that you organise everything. It’s all meticulously planned. We arrange for the children to get to the project, but once we’re there, a lot of the time our staff participate in the activities and we all have a fantastic time doing it.
“I love seeing the beaming smile on their faces when they go up to receive their certificate or they get a chance to show their family what they’ve been doing. They’re just so proud of themselves.”
Carla Brain, Enfield Carers Centre
It means so much to these young carers because they don’t get a lot of these opportunities. A lot of them are unable to attend after-school clubs, or clubs outside school, because of their caring role. So a lot of them have never tried some of these activities before, like music or pottery. And they love it.
Another thing I think is so fantastic with Create is the sharing ceremony: on the last day of the workshop, you have a sharing ceremony, so you can invite parents to attend. They share the work they’ve done and they get certificates. That means so much to our young carers, because a lot of them don’t receive certificates at school because their attendance or punctuality might not be great.
A participant on a photography project with Enfield Carers Centre
[I love seeing] the beaming smile on their faces when they go up to receive their certificate or they get a chance to show their family what they’ve been doing. They’re just so proud of themselves. So many of our young carers are really lacking confidence and it’s just incredible what they get out of Create workshops. They say that they’ve made new friends, they feel less alone, lots of different things like that. These workshops really do help.
One of our young carers looks after someone at home who’s quite ill and vulnerable to COVID. She’s been quite isolated. It’s been difficult for her to attend any activity. It was difficult for her to attend school. When a lot of children went back to school, she wasn’t able to, because it would just be so problematic if she brought the virus home. But when we had all these activities online, she loves coming to these Create ones because she can interact with other children. She’s making friends, she’s so creative. It makes such a difference because it’s a break from her caring role. It’s a chance to be creative and she can show the person she cares for what she’s created, which is just brilliant.
What does being creative mean to you?
It always lifts my mood. I think creative activities do that for people. Different things got different people through the pandemic. For instance, before the pandemic, my mum had been insisting to me for years that she cannot draw and that she’s terrible at art. Now she’s taken up watercolour painting. And they’re just incredible. Some people learnt a language or learned to play an instrument or people might have taken up watercolour painting for instance, or cookery. I think those things can get you through tough times.
Can you tell me what it’s like working with the Create team specifically?
All of the Create staff are absolutely fantastic. Very dedicated, very thorough. They’re all incredible.
We’ve worked with a number of different artists and they’ve all been absolutely brilliant. When they explain what they’re doing, they explain it in layman’s terms. You understand what they’re saying and you can ask them questions. They’re always happy to be really flexible. With young carers, sometimes someone might have an appointment or they might need to go to the hospital or something happens that delays them. But they’re always happy to take that into consideration.
Create staff are in contact with you the whole way through. They arrange the support meetings and talk you through everything. They always turn up when they say they will. They’re just so dedicated. Nicky, the CEO, is so passionate. Hearing her speak is why we got involved with Create in the first place.
What would you say to a carer service that was considering working with Create?
Definitely do it. There’s absolutely nothing to lose. You can speak to the staff about any questions you’ve got, any concerns you have. They are super flexible with anything that you need to speak to them about. So if it’s about punctuality, if it’s to do with numbers of attendees, if it’s about getting forms in … any of the concerns you might have, you can speak to them. They’re so flexible with it. And your young carers will get so much out of it. As will your staff: your staff will love it.
