Caring for somebody who is elderly, disabled or ill can be very stressful and demanding. It can sometimes help to talk to others who are in a similar situation. For this reason, the Equality and Diversity Team has established a Carers’ Network bringing together staff who are balancing work with caring for an ill, elderly, or disabled family member, friend or partner.
The Carers' Network provides working carers with the opportunity to come together and share experiences, and to join free events and talks on particular topics. The network includes a mailing list which is used to publicise events, share information and for members to contact others to discuss issues, ask questions and arrange informal meet ups.
Some ideas to consider may be:
- You wish to meet informally on a regular basis for refreshments to chat with other people in similar positions just to know you are not the only person juggling a busy work and home life balance.
- Having guest speakers to talk to the Carers Network in pre-arranged meetings - previous events have included: Staff Counselling, Dealing with Dementia, Caring for a child with disability or long term illness, Looking after me sessions.
- Looking at how the University identifies a "Carer" and how they support their employees (flexible working patterns/how line managers can support carers in the workplace/car parking).
Ideas Swap Shops
Ideas Swap Shops are relatively short sessions, usually 90 minutes, where carers get together to share ideas and tips relating to particular circumstances. Attendees are invited to send questions or topics to the facilitator before the session so that they can be summarised into themes for discussion and as many areas as possible will be covered in the time. The aim is for attendees to leave with new strategies and practical tips and also for people in similar circumstances to meet each other and hopefully form their own supportive networks.
All sessions provide an opportunity to take time out to meet up with other working carers and feedback from attendees has been very positive:
"I learnt lots from other peoples experience. I knew very little before this and now have a lot of useful information"
"I have discovered so much more information and avenues to explore and feel a lot less overwhelmed by my situation"