New Carer Projects will Expand Support & Services for Unpaid Carers in Birmingham!

CASBA: Supporting Carers with learning disabilities
CASBA’s new service for Carers with learning disabilities will support Carers to learn more about being a Carer and feel more confident; meet other Carers with learning disabilities who understand; arrange support from advocates to help Carers get their rights; feel less lonely and make new friends. There will be monthly groups at local venues. Carers with learning disabilities can also come along to chill and chat, learn about Carer benefits, entitlements and assessments and talk to the experts.

Birmingham Resilience Education and Wellbeing Services CIC (BREWS): Nurturing ADHD Kids
The Nurturing ADHD Kids Support Group supports Parent Carers of a child or young person with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) – those who are diagnosed and those who are awaiting assessment. Online and face to face courses are led by an adult with ADHD who has raised children with ADHD. Carers are also invited to join the twice weekly online ‘Coffee and Chat’ drop-in sessions and to join their private Facebook group.

Autistic Parents UK: Social care education and support for Autistic caregivers
Autistic Carers of children play a crucial role in providing care and support to their loved ones, but they themselves may require specialised assistance and understanding to effectively fulfil their caregiving responsibilities.

They are often required to navigate complex systems and face additional barriers in accessing appropriate resources and services. These include inaccessible formats, lack of understanding of social care opportunities or rights to support, how to communicate needs etc.

A dedicated social care education programme and support service will empower Birmingham based Autistic Carers with knowledge, skills, and tools to navigate their journey and interaction with social care and social work more effectively.

The programme is designed and delivered by autistic parents and autistic social workers, who will be able to utilise their lived experience and professional knowledge ensuring the programme encapsulates current, informed and relevant information for Autistic Carers.

Autism West Midlands: Birmingham Parent Carer Service
Autism West Midlands Birmingham Parent Carer Service offers opportunities to help Parent Carers to improve their understanding of autism and to develop skills and their ability to support their caring role.

Autism West Midlands service is open access and offers both 1-2-1 meetings as well as monthly group support taking place in four locations across Birmingham. 1-2-1 support can be accessed through a self-referral or a referral from a professional.

Training for parent/Carers through their Rising to the Challenge programme is also available consisting of six sessions for groups of parent/Carers. Information, advice and guidance including a helpline, enables Parent Carers to better understand autism and the child/young person they care for.

Cruse Bereavement Support: Specialist Bereavement Support for Birmingham Carers
Cruse Birmingham provides FREE bereavement support to any Carers living in the Birmingham area. Cruse understands how a bereavement can impact Carers and how their grief journey can feel very different to other bereavement experiences. Cruse offers in-person Carer-specific support sessions with access to further on-going bereavement support when it’s needed.

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Charity: Pre- and Post-Bereavement Support for Carers
The Bereavement and End of Life Link Worker will provide wrap-around, holistic support for Carers of patients at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust who are in the pre- and post-bereavement stages. They’ll support people as they navigate the emotional and practical aspects of bereavement and grieving, promoting self-care and wellbeing.

Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC: Keeping Dancing Cares
Carers who have been bereaved or who are facing bereavement due to supporting someone with a life-limiting condition will be able to attend twice weekly dance classes, one online and one face to face. Following the class, there will be the opportunity to stay for coffee and chat to build connections, share experiences and find out about other support available. Classes and chat will be facilitated by a Dance Psychotherapist.

Headway Birmingham and Solihull: Bereavement Counselling Service (for Carers of someone with an acquired brain injury)
This service is specially for Carers of someone with an acquired brain injury who are experiencing bereavement, giving the opportunity to help process their grief and face the future. Support is available via six private sessions, meeting face to face at one of our Hubs in Sutton, Moseley or Rednal, or group sessions, which also provide peer support. Couples counselling will also be provided as part of this project. See section titled Support for someone with an acquired brain injury, below.

Changes UK: CARE-Connect
Changes UK’s CARE-Connect support programme is for Carers of loved ones who look after someone close to them struggling with addiction. Caring for a loved one that is struggling with addiction can be stressful and exhausting. Changes UK provides support sessions, self-care strategies, wellbeing days, specialist advice, days out, information, resources, education and peer support to help support Carers supporting someone with addiction.

Aquarius Action Projects: Care Connect
Care Connect is here for Carers of all ages who are caring for those affected by substance misuse and gambling issues, whether as an adult Carer seeking guidance or a young Carer looking for support. Adult Carers will be able to join fortnightly group sessions led by experts, to share, learn, and grow with fellow Carers. For young Carers, and the children of the adult Carers we support, there will be fun family activities (running before and alongside the adult group sessions), outings to exciting places, and creative workshops.

Gateway Family Services CIC: Carer @ Heart
Carers @ Heart is a specialist support service that provides a one-to-one Lifestyle Check for Carers. Information will be provided on key health areas including blood pressure and BMI and advice on how these can be improved, if needed, as well as signposting to other local organisations and groups who can provide ongoing support.

Carers @ Heart is a specialist support service that will provide a one-to-one Lifestyle Check for Carers providing information on key health areas including Blood Pressure and BMI and information on how these can be improved, if needed, as well as signposting to other local organisations and groups who can provide ongoing support.

Thrive (society for Horticultural therapy): Carers connect to gardening
Thrive’s ‘Carers connect to Gardening’ is a service designed for Carers to be able to take time out in nature and have space and support for their own health and wellbeing. Carers can attend a free 16-week (1/2 day) accessible and inclusive horticultural therapy programme in Kings Heath Park. This will typically mean spending time in the beautiful gardens, learning new gardening skills and meeting other Carers.

Community Enterprise Growth CIC: Unrecognised2Recognised
Community Enterprise Growth delivers drama based creative English classes for people who otherwise would not participate in any form of social activities. The session will help Carers feel involved, develop confidence and become independent whilst improving mental health, wellbeing, finances education and employment. Each activity will focus on day-to-day activities running on a weekly basis over a period of 12 months.

Action for Children: Y-Space (AFC)
Y-Space (AFC) is working in partnership with the YMCA to support Young Carers (14 – 17 years) to manage their mental health and give them practical strategies to cope with day-to-day stresses.  The project will also help Young Carers with practical skills they might need in caring for siblings and/or parents and Carers.

YMCA Sutton Coldfield: Y Space: (YMCA)

Working in partnership with Action for Children, this project supports 14–17-year-olds with caring responsibilities. YMCA Sutton Coldfield will support young people’s transition to adulthood through 1:1 mentoring and time out and wellbeing activities. The project is open to young people across Birmingham who can access our time out activities running in various locations across the city.

Spurgeons: Birmingham Young Carers Counselling Projects
The aim of this project is to improve the mental health and emotional wellbeing of Young Carers, as well as improving family relationships / home lives / education, and increasing awareness of who to contact in times of crisis. Counselling sessions will take place either online, at Spurgeons’ premises, or a more convenient place to the Young Carer (school / community facility that the Young Carer is already familiar with).

Sense: Young and Sibling Carers Project (Birmingham)
This project aims to reach out to young and sibling Carers including those with a disability themselves and provide much needed services to give young and sibling Carers a break, a place to go, and make and meet friends. Activities include cooking, quizzes, film nights, arts, science fun, dancing, gaming and book clubs for different age groups. Online wellbeing sessions are also offered by a qualified counsellor if young and sibling Carers want to talk through concerns or more personal matters. The face-to-face group will provide a range of activities which are selected by the young Carers.

Headway: Couples Counselling Service (for Carers of someone with an acquired brain injury)
This project will offer free Counselling for Carers/families affected by an acquired brain injury. An acquired brain injury in the family can often put a strain on relationships, especially the partners coming to terms with this new caring responsibility and the many changes to finances and everyday life. Support is available via six private sessions, meeting face to face at one of our Hubs in Sutton, Moseley or Rednal, or group sessions, which also provide peer support.