Carer activist, author, poet and lived-experience advocate

Matthew McKenzie BEM FRSA is a British carer activist, author and poet who campaigns for the recognition, inclusion and support of unpaid carers.

His work focuses particularly on mental health caring, cancer caregiving, racial inequality, carer rights, hospital discharge, the Triangle of Care and the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF).

Matthew uses lived experience, public speaking, writing, poetry, education and community forums to help ensure that carers are identified, listened to and treated as partners in health and social care.

Caring background

Matthew became an unpaid carer while supporting his mother, who experienced schizophrenia and other serious health difficulties. Following many years as her primary carer, Matthew continued to use what he had learned to raise awareness of the pressures faced by families supporting someone with mental illness.

His mother died in 2019, but Matthew continues to support his two brothers, who are autistic and non-verbal. These experiences have shaped his commitment to carer inclusion, advocacy, equality and culturally responsive services.

Matthew is particularly concerned about carers who remain unseen by services, including Black and ethnic minority carers, mental health carers, cancer caregivers and families facing health inequalities.

National and community roles

Matthew’s roles and areas of involvement include:

• National Community Chair for the Triangle of Care programme associated with Carers Trust
• National PCREF Carer Lead and Expert by Experience Carer Ambassador with Cygnet Health Care
• Facilitator of the National Ethnic Mental Health Carers Forum
• Chair of the National Cancer Caregiver Forum
• Chair and facilitator of mental health carer forums across London
• Chair and facilitator of the South London Mental Health Carers Forum
• Co-facilitator of the South West London Mental Health Carers Forum
• Volunteer and carer advocate with Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, supporting regular carer information stalls across its hospital sites
• Carers UK Ambassador, member and volunteer
• Contributor to NHS England unpaid-carer programmes and advisory work
• Trustee of Greenwich Carers Centre
• Guest lecturer and lived-experience contributor to mental health education and research

Through these roles, Matthew works with carers, NHS organisations, universities, charities, researchers and health and social care professionals.

Books by Matthew McKenzie

Matthew has published five books exploring unpaid care, mental health, poetry, race and cancer caregiving.

A Caring Mind — 2020

Matthew’s first book reflects on his experience of caring for his mother and the emotional realities of supporting someone affected by serious mental illness.

ISBN-13: 979-8689567976

Experiencing Mental Health Caregiving – Unpaid Carers — 2021

This book brings together perspectives from carers, NHS professionals, researchers and people with lived experience. It examines subjects including confidentiality, carer involvement, co-production, stigma, employment, young carers and the Triangle of Care.

ISBN-13: 979-8469294030

The Poetry Book of Mental Health Caring — 2022

A collection of more than 100 poems exploring the emotional, practical and often hidden experiences of mental health carers.

ISBN-13: 979-8800241884

Race, Caring and Mental Health — 2023

This book examines the intersection of unpaid care, racism, mental health inequalities, cultural identity and the experiences of carers from ethnic communities.

ISBN-13: 979-8847568159

The Experience of Cancer Caregiving — 2024

Matthew’s fifth book explores the journey of caring for someone affected by cancer, including carer identity, emotional pressure, involvement in services and the importance of peer support. It includes a contribution from carer activist Nadia Taylor.

ISBN-13: 979-8873904334

Matthew is also developing Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken, a forthcoming collection of 200 poems centring the experiences of Black and ethnic minority mental health carers and reflecting the principles of PCREF.

NHS, media and public contributions

Matthew has worked with and contributed to numerous NHS trusts, national charities, universities and public programmes.

Selected contributions include:

• appearing in NHS England’s launch activity for the Unpaid Carers Action Plan
• contributing to NHS England citizen and unpaid-carer advisory work
• supporting the implementation and development of the Triangle of Care across NHS organisations
• contributing to PCREF and mental-health race-equality programmes
• working with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Cygnet, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, West London NHS Trust, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and other health organisations
• guest teaching and lived-experience contributions at King’s College London
• speaking at carer conferences, NHS events, parliamentary events and community programmes
• appearing on BBC Radio 1Xtra to discuss caring and lived experience
• producing educational videos, podcasts and poetry through the A Caring Mind platform

Matthew also facilitates forums where unpaid carers can meet NHS representatives, researchers, charities and community organisations, ask questions and influence the development of services.

Awards and recognition

British Empire Medal

Matthew was awarded the British Empire Medal in the King’s New Year Honours 2024 for services to carers.

The award recognised his sustained contribution to raising the profile of unpaid carers and supporting carer involvement across NHS trusts and communities.

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

Matthew is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and uses the post-nominal letters FRSA.

His work has also been recognised by NHS trusts, national carer organisations and community partners with whom he has collaborated.

Poetry and creative advocacy

Poetry is an important part of Matthew’s advocacy. His poems explore grief, isolation, stigma, race, resilience, carer identity, service involvement and the emotional consequences of supporting someone through illness.

Through spoken-word videos and the Voices & Verses poetry initiative, Matthew encourages carers to use creativity to express experiences that are not always captured by policies, assessments or clinical records.

PCREF poetry and creative advocacy

Matthew has also developed a distinctive body of spoken-word poetry and creative work exploring the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) from the perspective of Black and ethnic minority unpaid mental health carers.

His PCREF poetry examines cultural stigma, racial inequality, gatekeeping, institutional barriers, carer exclusion, identity, grief, resilience and the emotional consequences of supporting a relative through mental illness. Pieces including Today I Prayed, Gatekeeping Care and Stigma and Shame use lived experience to express issues that may not be fully captured by policies, assessments or clinical records.

Matthew also leads Voices & Verses, a creative initiative that brings carers and communities together to explore PCREF, race equality and mental health caring through poetry, discussion and shared expression.

This work forms part of Matthew’s forthcoming collection, Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken. The collection contains 200 poems centring the experiences of ethnic minority mental health carers and promoting listening, cultural understanding and meaningful carer involvement.

Matthew’s PCREF poetry is independently created as lived-experience advocacy. It supports the aims and themes of PCREF.

Professional photograph

Official profiles and links

• A Caring Mind website
• Matthew McKenzie on Wikidata
• A Caring Mind on YouTube
• Matthew McKenzie on Goodreads
• Matthew McKenzie on Amazon
• Matthew McKenzie on LinkedIn

Speaking, media and collaboration enquiries

Matthew is available for selected speaking engagements, panel discussions, lectures, interviews, poetry contributions and collaborative projects concerning:

• unpaid carers and carer rights
• mental health caring
• cancer caregiving
• racial inequality and culturally responsive services
• PCREF
• the Triangle of Care
• hospital discharge
• co-production and lived-experience involvement
• poetry and creative advocacy

For speaking, media or collaboration enquiries, contact:

Email: info@caringmindblog.com

Please include the name of the organisation, proposed subject, date, format and expected audience when making an enquiry.