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More Than Carers: Voices & Verses Brings Poetry, Art and Connection

On Tuesday 20 October 2026, we came together at Cygnet Churchill and online for our third Voices & Verses poetry and art event and our first delivered in a hybrid format.

For me, this was about creating space for people to be seen beyond their caring responsibilities. We are carers, but we are also writers, artists, music lovers, storytellers and people with our own hopes and ambitions.

With Cygnet’s support, the afternoon brought together poetry, art, music and lived experience. Joining online meant that people who could not travel could still contribute, create and share in the occasion.

Beginning with our voices

We opened with introductions and a grounding activity, inviting everyone to share a word describing how they arrived. Togetherness, gratitude, curiosity and openness helped set the tone.

My opening readings included Our Stories Matter and The Carer They Didn’t See. These explored the knowledge and emotions that carers carry, and how easily our contributions can remain unseen.

The discussion that followed reminded us why creative spaces matter. Poetry can communicate something that an assessment or formal meeting may struggle to capture. It allows room for love, uncertainty, frustration and hope, without expecting caring to be presented as an entirely positive experience.

Turning kindness towards ourselves

Our first art activity invited us to offer ourselves some of the kindness we so often give to others.

Using paper hearts, postcards, colours and decorations, participants created personal messages and images. Those joining online could take part with paper and pens at home.

It was a simple invitation, but a meaningful one: take a moment to make something for yourself. The artwork became a reminder that our own feelings and needs deserve attention too.

Finding poetry in unexpected places

Next came the word-hat poetry activity, using prompts, colours, images and words to spark ideas.

Starting points included autumn, a favourite colour, a happy place and the way music makes us feel. Short poems emerged about nature, memories, everyday life and imagined scenes.

There was laughter as well as reflection. Nobody needed to produce a polished poem or make their words rhyme. A few lines were enough to begin.

One of the prompts invited us to begin with “Music helps me…” This was my response:

Music helps me to feel fine,
As long as the right rhythm is on time.
My emotions will be mine,
No longer feel bad.
It helps the sun to shine,
Now and for all time.

— Matthew McKenzie

A simple starting line became an opportunity to express something personal. That is part of what Voices & Verses offers: space to discover our creativity and be seen beyond our caring responsibilities.

This part of the afternoon captured something I want Voices & Verses to encourage: our creativity does not have to revolve entirely around caring. We can write about whatever interests, moves or amuses us.

Making space for connection and inclusion

A break and refreshments kindly provided by Churchill gave those in the room time to talk and appreciate the work taking shape around them.

Running through the programme was the importance of voice, identity and respect, reflected in the planned Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) poetry prompts. What helps us feel heard? What do we wish others understood? What hopes do we bring to care?

From my lived experience perspective, inclusion means making room for people to express themselves in their own way. Culture, background and personal experience all shape our stories. Creative activities offer another way for those stories to be recognised.

Sharing music and creating the covers of our lives

The music section brought us together for a singalong to You Are My Sunshine, welcoming voices from the room and online.

We then moved into the cover-art activity. Participants thought about songs that resonated with their lives or reflected how they were feeling, before creating artwork for an imagined personal playlist.

Some used recognisable images; others expressed themselves through colour and abstract patterns. Conversations about favourite songs opened up memories and connections between people.

The activity showed how closely poetry, music and visual art can speak to one another — and how differently each of us can interpret the same starting point.

Closing with reflection

The final sharing and closing circle gave us time to look at the artwork, hear reflections and consider what we would take away.

Participants valued the variety of activities and the opportunity to try something unexpected. Online contributions also highlighted why access matters: travelling can be difficult alongside caring, work and other commitments.

Our first hybrid event involved learning as we went, but it opened another route into the group. People could be part of the afternoon without being physically at Cygnet Churchill.

I left feeling proud of what we had created together. This was lived experience expressed through imagination, humour, culture and connection. It was a reminder that carers have talents and identities that deserve space to grow.

PCREF Poetry: Race, Mental Health and Unpaid Carers

Poetry by Matthew McKenzie — exploring caring, identity, belonging and the need to be heard.

Welcome to my PCREF poetry project. Through poetry and filmed readings, I explore the experiences of unpaid carers, particularly Black and other ethnic minority carers supporting someone with mental ill health.

The poems open conversations about racism, cultural understanding, trust and the relationships between families and mental health services. They also celebrate creativity, community and the people behind the caring role.

Why PCREF and Poetry?

PCREF stands for the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework.

For me, connecting poetry with PCREF means making space for experiences that can be difficult to express in meetings, assessments or formal feedback. A poem offers another way to speak about feeling excluded, finding support or wanting services to understand your family.

These are personal and creative contributions to conversations about race equality and carer inclusion. My hope is that they encourage people to listen, reflect and consider what needs to change.

Start Here: A Featured Poem

Creativity as the Expression — Poem 41

How do we explain our caring experiences when the words used in meetings, assessments and care plans do not quite capture what we want to say?

This poem explores creativity as a way of finding a voice and sharing experiences of caring.

Reflect: How can we make more room for carers to express themselves in their own way?

Explore the PCREF Poetry Collection

Explore my published poetry about race, mental health and unpaid caring. Click a poem’s title to watch it on YouTube.

Poem	Watch on YouTube
4	Who Is
9	Today I Prayed
11	Fear Has Roots
16	We Look After Each Other
29	Nothing About Us Without Us
30	Language as Comfort
37	Our Stories Matter
41	Creativity as the Expression
46	My Anger Without Permission
49	Gatekeeping Care
53	Racial Inequality in Mental Health

The poem numbers identify pieces within the collection. More video links will be added as this page develops.

More Poetry

Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken

Explore another spoken-word reading from my wider poetry project recognising ethnic mental health carers’ experiences.

Poetry in Action

Voices & Verses — PCREF Carer Poetry Event

See how poetry brings carers together through creativity, shared experiences and conversation.

Browse more videos on A Caring Mind

Visit A Caring Mind on YouTube to explore the poems

You can find a particular reading by searching for its title within my channel.

Poetry in Action: Voices & Verses

Poetry can bring carers together as well as help individuals find their voice.

My channel also includes poetry event recordings and community activities, including Voices & Verses — Carers Poetry Event: PCREF in Action.

If you would like to find out about joining a carer poetry group or referring carers to a session, please get in touch.

Use a Poem to Begin a Conversation

Carer groups, PCREF networks, staff teams, libraries and community organisations may find these poems useful as starting points for reflection.

Choose a poem, watch or listen together, and consider:

What words or images stayed with you?
What does the poem prompt you to consider about carers’ experiences?
Whose voices might be missing from your service or group?
What practical change could help carers feel heard and included?

Allow people to choose whether to share their own experiences. Listening is a valuable form of participation too.

Further Learning

For those interested in exploring the wider issues, my YouTube channel also includes:

Listening Differently to Black Carers with Poetry, and PCREF
Putting the C (Carer) into PCREF — Triangle of Care & Racial Equity in NHS Mental Health
Triangle of Care Through an Anti-Racist Lens: Are All Carers Equally Heard?
Hard to Reach or Easy to Ignore — Ethnic Mental Health Carers
Why Black Carers Struggle to Access Mental Health Support

These presentations offer further opportunities to consider race equality, lived experience and meaningful carer involvement.

About Matthew McKenzie

I am Matthew McKenzie, an unpaid carer, carer advocate, author and poet.

My work draws on my lived experience of supporting family members and my commitment to improving recognition and inclusion for unpaid carers. Through A Caring Mind, I bring together caring, mental health, race equality and creative expression.

Poetry gives me another way to raise questions, share experiences and encourage conversations that might otherwise remain unheard.

Sharing, Enquiries and Getting Involved

You can support the project by sharing this page or links to the original videos with carers, colleagues and community networks.

Please credit Matthew McKenzie / A Caring Mind when sharing links. For permission to reproduce poems, include them in publications or training materials, or arrange a reading or workshop, please contact me through this website.

I welcome enquiries from carer centres, NHS teams, PCREF leads, libraries, arts organisations and others interested in creating more space for carers’ voices.

Watch and subscribe to A Caring Mind on YouTube

Carers’ experiences deserve to be heard. Poetry offers another way to listen.

The Carer in the Triangle: Bringing Lived Experience to ELFT’s Social Work Conference 2026

By Matthew McKenzie BEM, FRSA – Carer Activist, Unpaid Carer and Triangle of Care Community Chair

On Thursday 8 October 2026, I was delighted to attend, present and support the East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) Annual Social Work Conference, held at Regent Hall, Salvation Army, Oxford Street, London.

It was an opportunity to celebrate the important work of social workers, hear their professional journeys and share my own experiences as an unpaid mental health carer.

I was invited to deliver a presentation to around 150 ELFT social workers entitled “The Carer in the Triangle: What Social Workers Need to See, Ask and Do”, focusing on the importance of recognising unpaid carers and strengthening their involvement in mental health services.

A conference celebrating social work

The conference brought together social workers, NHS leaders and guest speakers to explore a range of important subjects.

The programme included updates from Social Work England, cyber and technology-facilitated domestic abuse, mental capacity and non-engagement, and an interesting debate about artificial intelligence and its implications for social work.

Later in the afternoon, we heard personal career stories from ELFT social workers, reflecting on the different routes they had taken into the profession.

I particularly appreciated hearing about their challenges, achievements and motivations for supporting people. Their stories reminded me that social workers bring much more than professional qualifications into their roles. They also bring personal experiences, compassion and a commitment to making a difference.

The Triangle of Care: Seeing the person beside the patient

My presentation drew upon my lived experience of supporting my late mother, who lived with schizophrenia, alongside my ongoing caring responsibilities for my two autistic brothers.

I wanted to remind social workers that the person beside the patient is often carrying a story of their own.

Carers may understand the history behind a mental health crisis, recognise changes in behaviour and provide support that professionals do not always see.

Yet carers can remain invisible within services.

The Triangle of Care, developed by Carers Trust, promotes partnership between the person using services, professionals and unpaid carers.

I emphasised that this partnership should be based on trust, shared understanding and respect, rather than a hierarchy in which carers’ knowledge is overlooked.

My presentation centred on three simple messages:

SEE – Recognise the carer.

Look beyond family relationships and identify who is actually providing support. Notice the emotional, practical and financial pressures that carers may be experiencing.

ASK – Listen without making assumptions.

Ask carers about their experiences, what they have noticed and what support they need. A simple, respectful question can uncover valuable knowledge that might otherwise be missed.

DO – Turn recognition into meaningful action.

Record the caring role, explain confidentiality, involve carers appropriately in care and discharge planning, offer referrals for carer assessments and follow up when circumstances change.

These three actions can help transform carer involvement from good intentions into everyday practice.

Race, culture and inequalities in carer involvement

An important part of my presentation explored the Triangle of Care through an anti-racist lens.

As facilitator of the National Ethnic Mental Health Carer Forum, I regularly hear about the barriers experienced by carers from diverse communities.

These may include cultural assumptions about family responsibilities, language barriers, mistrust arising from previous experiences and racial inequalities in mental health services.

I highlighted the importance of connecting the Triangle of Care with the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF).

Having the same organisational standards does not necessarily mean every carer experiences services equally.

Social workers have an important role in challenging assumptions, recognising cultural knowledge and ensuring that carers from different backgrounds are heard and supported.

The journey towards becoming a carer-inclusive NHS organisation

I also wanted to highlight that implementing the Triangle of Care is an ongoing organisational journey.

It requires more than policies, posters or achieving accreditation.

Just as I support and promote PCREF/Triangle of care at many NHS organisations. I feel they need committed leadership, trained staff, meaningful carer involvement and opportunities to learn from feedback.

This is especially important during mental health crises and hospital discharge, when communication failures can leave carers feeling unsupported.

Organisations should regularly ask whether carers are being identified, whether their knowledge is valued and whether they are receiving the information and support they need.

The true measure of success is not simply achieving recognition through the Triangle of Care, but whether unpaid carers notice a real difference in their experiences.

The Carer They Didn’t See: Poetry and lived experience

One of the most personal moments of my presentation was reading my poem, “The Carer They Didn’t See.”

The poem reflects on my experiences supporting my mother and the feeling of being present during her care while not always being recognised as someone who also needed information, understanding and support.

I was particularly grateful that ELFT kindly displayed my award-winning photograph, “The Carer They Didn’t See,” at the conference.

The photograph features my late mother’s coat and shawl resting on a chair, symbolising her absence and the memories that remain from my caring journey.

Seeing the photograph displayed alongside my presentation was meaningful to me. It offered another way of communicating the emotional experiences of unpaid carers.

Sometimes poetry and photography can express what organisational policies and professional frameworks cannot.

Hearing from ELFT’s leadership

Towards the end of the conference, we heard from Richard Fradgley, ELFT’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Integrated Care, who discussed findings from the Trust’s social work survey.

There were encouraging improvements in leadership visibility, multidisciplinary working and professional development.

However, challenges remained around processes between NHS services and local authorities, as well as linking staff appraisals with career development.

These issues particularly interested me because carers often experience the consequences when services struggle to work together.

ELFT Chief Executive Lorraine Sunduza also acknowledged the contributions of social workers, the importance of their professional and personal experiences, and the need to support people through organisational change.

I appreciated the recognition that good care depends on relationships, compassion and working together.

Final reflections

I would like to thank ELFT for inviting me to contribute to its Annual Social Work Conference and for providing space for unpaid carer lived experience.

It was encouraging to see social workers sharing their stories and NHS leaders acknowledging both their achievements and the challenges facing the profession. It was also encouraging to hear that the Trust’s involvement as an early adopter of both the Triangle of Care and the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF), emphasising the importance of improving carer involvement and addressing racial inequalities in mental health services.

For accuracy, ELFT was one of four original PCREF pilot trusts from 2021 and joined a separate national pilot in 2026 to integrate PCREF with the Triangle of Care.

For me, the Triangle of Care is about ensuring that the expertise of unpaid carers is recognised alongside professional knowledge, while respecting the rights and wishes of people receiving care.

I hope my presentation encouraged social workers to reflect on what they can do differently when they next meet a family member or unpaid carer.

My closing message remains simple:

SEE the carer. ASK about their experiences and needs. DO something meaningful with what you hear.

Because the carer should never be the missing point of the triangle.

Being Seen from the Start: Carer and Service User Stories at Staff Inductions

By Matthew McKenzie BEM FRSA, member of SUITE

On Monday 5 October 2026 at the ORTUS, I shared my carer story at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust’s staff induction. I attended as a carer member of SUITE — Service User and Carer Involvement in Training and Education, managed by Angela Mitchell. The presentation was warmly received, and I was particularly pleased that my poetry video connected with staff.

I spoke about caring for my mother, who lived with schizophrenia, and my continuing role supporting my brothers. I reflected on the uncertainty of becoming a carer, the responsibilities that followed, and the difference it made when someone listened, explained things and recognised my own support needs. My message to staff was simple: carers bring knowledge, relationships and experience that deserve to be heard.

I also presented my award-winning photograph, “The Carer They Didn’t See,” which received a DUALITY photography award in 2026. The image shows my mother’s coat and shawl on a chair, while my own chair sits partly outside the frame. It reflects how unpaid carers can be constantly present in someone’s care, yet remain almost invisible to services.

Alongside the photograph, I shared my poetry video of the same name:

Watch “The Carer They Didn’t See” on YouTube

For me, staff induction is an important place for these conversations. It is where new colleagues begin learning about a trust’s values and how those values should shape everyday practice. Hearing directly from service users and carers brings a human perspective to that learning: what it feels like to receive care, support someone through distress, or struggle to be included.

Service users and carers offer distinct perspectives, and both deserve space. Their stories can encourage staff to reflect on how they listen, communicate and involve people from their very first day.

Thank you to Angela and the SUITE team for making room for my contribution. I hope the photograph, story and poem leave staff with one question to carry into their work: What could I do to help someone feel seen, heard and included?

Fear Has Roots – A PCREF Poem About Mistrust, Discrimination and Unpaid Caring

By Matthew McKenzie – Carer poet & Carer Activist

As I continue developing my poetry collection Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken: Poetry about Ethnic Mental Health Carers, I wanted to share another poem from the collection called Fear Has Roots.

The poem explores something I feel mental health services need to understand more deeply: mistrust does not always begin with the person standing in front of you.

Sometimes it has a history.

A carer may have experienced years of being dismissed, misunderstood or having their concerns minimised. They may have watched other carers from their community struggle to be heard. Experiences of discrimination can also travel through families and communities, influencing how safe people feel when approaching services.

Fear Has Roots explores what happens when those experiences begin to change the way a carer communicates.

The carer starts choosing their words carefully. They worry about appearing angry. They fear being labelled “difficult” or “aggressive”. Even when trying to advocate for someone they love, they may feel that one wrong word could change how professionals see them.

One section of the poem says:

For me, this is particularly important when thinking about ethnic minority carers and the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF).

If services want to build trust with communities, it is not enough simply to ask why somebody mistrusts the system. We also need to ask what happened before that mistrust developed.

Listening to what sits behind the fear

The poem is not anti-professional. In fact, its opening line deliberately makes that clear:

“Fear has roots, I am not anti-professional.”

Instead, it asks professionals and services to become curious about the experiences behind a carer’s behaviour.

Repeated dismissal can wear somebody down. Discrimination can leave lasting memories. Feeling judged when advocating for a loved one can make a carer more cautious the next time they enter a meeting, ward or assessment.

This is why culturally responsive carer involvement matters.

We should not only hear what carers are saying. We should also understand the history, culture and experiences that may sit behind their words.

Fear has roots.

Mistrust has a history.

And perhaps listening is one of the places where rebuilding trust can begin.

Fear Has Roots is part of my developing poetry collection Unpaid, Unseen and Yet Unbroken, which explores race, culture, identity, inequality, resilience and the experiences of ethnic minority unpaid mental health carers.

World Alzheimer’s Day 2026: Remembering the Carers

To mark World Alzheimer’s Day, I have produced a new A Caring Mind video focusing on the unpaid carers supporting relatives and friends living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurological disease rather than a mental illness. However, its emotional and psychological impact can be profound—not only for the person diagnosed, but also for those caring beside them.

The video explores the importance of earlier diagnosis, including carers in decisions, recognising anticipatory grief and connecting families with appropriate support. It also highlights organisations such as Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia UK, Carers UK and Carers Trust.

Carers may manage appointments, medication, personal care, changing behaviour and difficult decisions, often without enough information or support for their own wellbeing.

World Alzheimer’s Day gives us an opportunity to challenge stigma, listen to people affected by dementia and recognise the contribution of unpaid carers.

Neither the person living with dementia nor the carer walking beside them should be forgotten.

#WorldAlzheimersDay #DementiaAwareness #UnpaidCarers #CarerSupport #ACaringMind

Making Time for Black Mental Health: Free Racial Trauma Seminar in Shoreditch

Think Tenacity Academy CIC is hosting another important Making Time for Black Mental Health event in London.

The free racial trauma seminar will take place on:

Wednesday 23 September 2026
3:00 pm–9:00 pm
Cottons Shoreditch, 321 Old Street, London EC1V 9LE

The event will provide a culturally informed space to explore racial trauma, mental health and wellbeing within Black communities. It will also create opportunities for people with lived experience, carers, professionals and community organisations to connect and learn from one another.

I attended a previous Making Time for Black Mental Health event and saw how valuable these community-led spaces can be. They enable conversations about race and mental health to take place in an environment where people feel understood, represented and supported.

As a lived experience Black mental health carer and advocate, I know that racial trauma can affect not only individuals but also families and unpaid carers. We need more culturally responsive spaces that recognise these experiences and make it easier to discuss mental health without fear, judgement or stigma.

The event is free to attend, but capacity is limited to approximately 45 places, so early booking is strongly recommended.

A related Racial Trauma Group Support event is also advertised for Thursday 1 October in Notting Hill.

Book your free place through Eventbrite

Find out more about Think Tenacity Academy CIC.

Share Your Hospital Discharge Experience – Healthwatch Lambeth Survey 2026

Healthwatch Lambeth is inviting patients and unpaid carers to share their experiences of leaving hospital.

The survey is part of a nationwide Healthwatch England project examining hospital discharge. Healthwatch Lambeth is particularly seeking responses from people living in Lambeth who have experienced a difficult hospital discharge within the past 12 months.

This may include situations where:

Discharge was delayed.
The patient was sent home before they felt ready.
Information about the discharge was unclear or incomplete.
Essential equipment or support was not available.
Follow-up care had not been properly arranged.
An unpaid carer was not sufficiently involved, informed or prepared.

The survey can be completed by patients themselves or by an unpaid carer describing the experience of someone they care for.

Healthwatch Lambeth is especially interested in hearing from people whose experiences may not always be represented in health and care feedback, including men and people from ethnic minority communities.

Hospital discharge can place significant responsibility on families and unpaid carers. When carers are not recognised, involved or given the right information, they may suddenly find themselves managing medication, personal care, appointments and recovery without adequate preparation.

Sharing these experiences can help identify what needs to improve and highlight the importance of involving carers as genuine partners throughout discharge planning.

Take part in the survey:

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/hwlambeth

You can also scan the QR code on the accompanying Healthwatch Lambeth flyer.

For further information, contact Healthwatch Lambeth:

Email: info@healthwatchlambeth.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7274 8522

Please share this survey with Lambeth residents, patients and unpaid carers who may have had a difficult hospital discharge experience during the past year.

The Heart of Care – Ealing Carers Online Poetry Group August 2026

By Matthew McKenzie – Poetry group facilitator

The Ealing Carers Online Poetry Group returned in August for another warm and creative evening of poetry, reflection and peer support. Delivered with the support of Ealing Carers Partnership, the group has now been running for two years and continues to provide carers with a welcoming space in which they can express themselves, meet others and take some valuable time away from the pressures of their caring roles.

Carers joined the session for different reasons. Some wanted inspiration to write, while others valued the opportunity to relax, listen and spend time with people who understood the realities of caring. One member described how they often begin an exercise believing they will not be able to write anything, only to be surprised by the words and emotions that emerge.

This is an important part of the poetry group. Nobody needs to be an experienced poet, and there is no pressure to read aloud. People are welcome to participate at their own pace, listen to other carers and gradually build their confidence.

Exploring “The Heart of Care”

The main writing exercise was called “The Heart of Care”. Carers were given the beginnings of lines and invited to complete them using words drawn from their own experiences. They could choose whether or not to use rhyme.

The poems explored dedication, courage, memories, exhaustion, prayer, quiet reflection and the determination required to continue caring through difficult days. Familiar moments, including sharing a laugh, shedding a tear or simply making a cup of tea, became meaningful images within the poems.

Although everyone worked from the same starting point, each poem developed its own character and voice. One contribution focused on the strength needed to continue walking along the “winding road” of caring. Another described finding a voice and taking a stance, while another ended by recognising that small moments of reflection can help build the core of a carer’s wellbeing.

The exercise reminded us that poetry does not need to be complicated. A few carefully chosen words can express feelings that may otherwise be difficult to explain.

Listening, reflecting and encouraging one another

After each poem was shared, group members were encouraged to ask thoughtful questions and reflect on what they had heard. This created some powerful conversations about finding your voice, managing negative thoughts and recognising your own efforts.

One carer spoke about replacing late-night self-criticism with positive affirmations: reminding themselves that they had done their best and did not need to solve everything before allowing themselves to rest.

Another spoke about the “will” carers must find each morning to get up and continue. Even though they felt nervous about reading aloud, the encouragement they received demonstrated the peer-support element at the heart of the group.

Carers were encouraged to keep their poems together in a folder or notebook. Returning to words about hope, warmth, identity and resilience can offer reassurance during times when someone is feeling low or overwhelmed.

When a carer’s poem becomes a song

A particularly moving part of the evening came when one member shared a song developed from their own poem about caring. The piece was originally inspired by the theme “A Carer Is” and offered a heartfelt message to other carers: you are seen, you matter and the contribution you make deserves to be recognised.

Members described the song as a love letter to carers. They felt it was something from which carers could draw comfort and strength, particularly because recognition does not always come from services or even from the people receiving care.

The writer generously gave permission for the song to be shared with other carer groups, forums and events.

Listen to the carer’s song here:
https://www.mureka.ai/song-detail/125940401242114

Carers helping to shape future poetry events

The session was also an opportunity to ask carers what they would like to experience at upcoming in-person and hybrid poetry events.

Ideas included combining poetry with art, drawing and music; creative activities based on hope, wellbeing and resilience; choosing unexpected words from a hat and using them to write a poem or short story; and using simple unfinished lines to help people try poetry for the first time.

Members also suggested introducing relaxation, breathing and gentle body-awareness activities. These could help carers settle their minds, release some tension and feel ready to write.

Most importantly, carers wanted opportunities to perform their own work and help lead parts of future workshops. One member volunteered to lead a creative word-picking exercise at a future event. This is an exciting step towards making the programme increasingly carer-led and co-produced.

Upcoming activities discussed during the session included an Ealing Central Library workshop on 8 October, a future workshop at Greenford Library and an event at Manor House Library in Lewisham on 4 November. Further details will be shared once all arrangements have been confirmed.

Join the Ealing Carers Online Poetry Group

The Ealing Carers Online Poetry Group is more than a writing workshop. It is a friendly and supportive community where carers can connect, develop their creativity and have their experiences heard and valued.

You do not need to consider yourself a poet. You can write in rhyme or free verse, share something you have already created or simply attend and listen. Carers from Ealing and beyond are welcome to take part.

The next online meeting is planned for Friday 25 September 2026. Please contact the group organiser for the joining details and to be added to the mailing list.

info@ealingcarerspartnership.org

Whether you are looking for creative inspiration, companionship, a little relaxation or a safe way to express your caring experiences, you will be warmly welcomed.

Discover Your Story Through Photography: Free Workshops & Community Exhibition

Posted by Matthew McKenzie – Carer activist

A fantastic new opportunity from King’s College London is inviting unpaid carers and members of the public to capture these experiences through photography.

Free Online Photography Workshops

Whether you’ve never taken a photograph beyond snapping pictures on your phone or you already enjoy photography, these free online workshops are designed for everyone.

You’ll learn how to:

Use your smartphone to take more meaningful photographs.
Tell powerful stories through images.
Build confidence in your creative skills.
Prepare photographs for a public exhibition.

Workshop dates (BST):

📷 Workshop 1: Photography Fundamentals – Saturday 18 July, 11:00am–12:00pm
📖 Workshop 2: Storytelling – Saturday 25 July, 11:00am–12:00pm
🖼️ Workshop 3: Finalising Your Photographs & Stories – Saturday 1 August, 11:00am–12:00pm

The workshops are completely free, held online via Zoom, and no previous photography experience is needed.

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/photography-fundamentals-for-health-wellbeing-4854963

Showcase Your Experience

Participants will have the opportunity to submit their photographs to be displayed at the DUALITY: Journeys of Ageing and Multiple Long-Term Conditions community exhibition.

The exhibition celebrates the real-life experiences of people living with long-term health conditions, those who support them, and the communities around them.

Join the DUALITY Community Event

The exhibition forms part of a free community event taking place at Bush House, King’s College London.

Date: Tuesday 8 September
Time: 4:00pm – 7:30pm

Visitors can enjoy:

A community photography exhibition.
Conversations with people who have lived experience of long-term conditions.
Information from local health and community organisations.
A discussion about realistic ways to include exercise and wellbeing in everyday life.
Complimentary refreshments.

The event is open to everyone, but registration is required as places are limited.

Interested?

If you’re an unpaid carer and would like to explore your creativity while helping raise awareness of the realities of caring and long-term health conditions, we encourage you to register for these free workshops.

Places are limited, so early booking is recommended.

This opportunity is free, welcoming, and open to everyone, no photography experience required.

A Caring Mind

A blog for carers of mental health and cancer