Empowering unpaid parent carers for positive change

Refresh Carers offer workshops and training programmes to provide skills to support independence, build confidence and improve the life conditions for parent carers in Leeds. They received a Leeds Fund Micro Grant to support their work. 

 

Can you tell us a bit about Refresh Carers? 

Refresh Carers charity was set up in November 2021 by two unpaid parent carers who live in Leeds, Sarah Godfrey and Julie Baird. They both had lived experience of caring and knew the potential negative impact of the caring role. This was evident from the results of the survey they conducted in January 2021 which was funded by the Leeds Community Foundation Micro grant. The results echoed both Sarah and Julie’s experiences of isolation, negative impact on their mental and physical health, financial difficulties and loss of identity. Both wanted to empower unpaid parent carers for positive change and wanted to put the carer at the centre of their work. Sarah and Julie’s aim is to change the world for parent carers. First they want to support carers to achieve their personal goals regarding taking part in a hobby, volunteering or obtaining paid work. They will achieve this by group work and one to one sessions. Refresh Carers achieved charity status in May 2022. 

 

What did your Leeds Fund Micro Grant enable you to do? 

The Leeds Funds Micro Grant enabled Refresh Carers to purchase 2 laptops, ink and other stationary materials. The Micro Grant also made it possible for Refresh Carers to run a pilot course for unpaid parent carers. 

Refresh Carers pilot course started on 21st September and ran for 6 weeks. 7 unpaid parent carers took part in the pilot course which was facilitated by Refresh Carers co-founders Sarah Godfrey and Julie Baird. 

Week One started with ‘Our Stories’ where all participants could share something about their life if they wanted to. Week 2 and 3 covered confidence building and included tasks such as a discussion around all the skills parent carers have learnt due to their caring role. Week 4 and 5 covered wellbeing and carers rights. Week 6 an art workshop was facilitated by the professional artist Diane Shillito. 

 

Can you tell us about the impact of what you do on the people you work with? 

Feedback from the pilot course was extremely positive from all the parent carers who attended the course. Below are some quotes from participants. 

“I enjoyed feeling in control, thinking about what I need to do.” 

“The session has been really useful; I was not aware of many of the things discussed.” 

“It was wonderful I have learnt a lot. Thanks.” 

“It was all useful, I enjoyed the finding our strengths session useful.” 

“Massive thanks for including me in this course really excited to see where Refresh Carers goes.” 

“It has shown me I can achieve things I had decided I couldn’t.” 

“It was lovely to be part of this group and I would love to stay involved for future courses.” 

“Friendly parent carers doing the course really understanding.” 

“Refresh Carers is exciting and different and has a holistic approach.” 

“I feel more confident being able just to talk openly at these workshops.” 

  

E was a single parent of two children, one of whom was disabled. E wanted to go to university but was unsure how she would manage it with her caring role. During the course she was informed about Direct Payments and given the information about how to apply for them. E is now in the process of applying for a place at University. 

 

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as an organisation? 

The biggest challenge facing our charity is raising enough funds to be able to fund a full-time position. 

 

How is your organisation preparing for the future, and what kind of funding is needed? 

We have planned 2 more 6 week courses this year and we are constantly researching and applying for grants in order to obtain funding for core costs and project costs. 

We are networking and reaching for support from statutory and third sector organisations. We have an unpaid parent carer focus group to help us develop our work and we are trying to reach as many parent carers as we can, although we are aware that many unpaid parent carers are hidden within our communities. 

We need funding for core costs most of all.