This Carers Week, carer and poet Matthew McKenzie FRSA joins us to talk about the importance of the campaign.
First of all, I would like to say thanks to Care for the Carers giving me the voice to help promote Carers Week 2023. Care for the Carers do amazing things for unpaid carers in the community in East Sussex. So, I am delighted to hear that Carers Week 2023 is about Recognising and supporting carers in the community.
Carers Week is an initiative led by Carers Trust and Carers UK helping to raise awareness of carers. The awareness campaign runs each year for the first week of June. Without recognition and support, carers will struggle to be identified, valued and supported. These are the very things carers require. As a carer myself I often raise awareness of caring through my books and the carer groups I run.
In the span of 3 years, I have written 4 books and am now working on my 5th book Providing Care & other short stories. My focus is on those caring for someone with a mental illness. Mental illness cannot always be seen and even though caring can be a private matter, we need to make sure carers are counted. It does not help that carers can suffer stigma.
Not many carers are in a rush to say they are caring for someone suffering with mental illness. This is why awareness campaigns are so important to help combat stigma and remind others that carers should be recognised and supported.
I wanted to finish with a poem taken from my book The Poetry of mental health caring. I tend to use poetry to help raise awareness of caring.
Poem number 94. A Rallying call
I stand high up
And I stand tall
Looking out to carers
A rallying call
I shout far out
And shout so high
Hoping to be heard
High up in the sky
Not only the sky
But down below
I shout right down
To those that should know
A rallying call
Both far and wide
Hear my call
Don’t shoved aside
Look up, let’s go
Make yourself known
Don’t hide away
Don’t complain or moan
Just hear my call
Not long to go
A carer’s call
To those that know.
All I want is a caring community and a caring society. If we all look out for each other then no one would have to suffer, let alone develop mental illness.
Matthew McKenzie (Chair of the National Triangle of Care group)
For more information on Matthew and his poetry, visit his blog: https://caringmindblog.com/
You can find out more about the Carers Week campaign here. If you look after someone would like to access some support, get in touch with our Carers Hub.
