The recent Carers Forum brought together unpaid carers, health professionals, and community organisations from across South London to share updates, experiences, and ideas for improving mental health support. The event, chaired by Matthew McKenzie, created a safe and open space for carers to connect, exchange information, and have their questions heard by local health leaders.
Setting the Scene
Matthew opened the session by welcoming carers from across Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark. He spoke about the importance of providing carers with dedicated time to hear from service providers, particularly those supporting someone with mental ill-health and to ensure their voices shape local mental health strategies.
At St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, people affected by cancer are placed at the heart of everything they do. Whether you’re a patient receiving treatment, a family member, a carer, or part of a local cancer support group, your experiences and insights are invaluable in shaping the way the hospital cancer services are delivered.
Voice is a dedicated patient and carer group that works closely with the Cancer Team at St George’s. It provides a vital forum for sharing experiences, ideas, and suggestions that directly influence how services are planned, developed, and improved.
By joining Voice, you’ll:
Represent the perspectives of patients and carers.
Share what works well in cancer pathways and highlight areas for improvement.
Help identify priorities for local cancer services.
Be kept informed of new cancer services and projects.
Take part in health and wellbeing events.
Have the chance to help design new services or join the core group guiding the support group.
Why carers are especially needed
Carers play a unique and vital role in the cancer journey. Their insights into the challenges and realities of supporting a loved one through treatment provide perspectives that professionals and even patients themselves may not always see.
Right now, Voice is especially looking for more carers to join, ensuring their voices are fully represented in shaping services.
How to get involved
Becoming a member of Voice is free. By joining, you’ll be part of a welcoming community committed to making cancer care better for everyone.
To find out more or sign up, contact the Macmillan Information and Support Centre:
Understanding the Hidden Struggles of Ethnic Minority Carers Caring for a loved one with mental illness can come with challenges, but for many ethnic minority carers, the journey is made more challenging by cultural stigma, language barriers, and a deep-rooted mistrust of formal health systems.
These carers often carry immense responsibility behind closed doors, with little recognition or support. Despite their dedication, many avoid reaching out to mental health services—not because they don’t care, but because past experiences have taught them to be cautious, even fearful.
What Is Institutional Distrust and Why Does It Matter? Institutional distrust refers to the lack of confidence in systems like healthcare, social care, or government services. For ethnic minority carers, this distrust is often grounded in real experiences of discrimination, cultural insensitivity, or the fear of losing control over a loved one’s care.
When services fail to understand or respect a carer’s background, the result is silence and isolation leaving carers to cope alone, without the help they may desperately need.
A Short Video Giving Voice to Unheard Stories To shed light on this important issue, I’ve created a short video presentation: “Institutional Distrust: Why Many Ethnic Carers Avoid Formal Services”
This video draws on the voices and lived experiences of unpaid carers, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds. It explores the emotional weight they carry, the cultural barriers they navigate, and the urgent need for services to become more inclusive, respectful, and culturally aware.
Why Sharing These Stories Matters If we truly want to support carers from all backgrounds, we must first listen and really listen to what they’re telling us. By naming institutional distrust and understanding its roots, we can begin to rebuild trust and create spaces where carers feel safe to seek help.
Please watch and share the video, and let’s continue the conversation about what real support looks like for ethnic minority carers in mental health.
The Power of Poetry and Storytelling in the Lives of Carers
Caring for a loved one with mental health challenges or chronic illness is a journey marked by both hardship and hope. Too often, the voices of carers those who provide unpaid, tireless support are overlooked in the broader conversation about health and wellbeing. Yet, as this moving gathering of carers and poets reveals, storytelling and poetry can be transformative tools for connection, healing, and advocacy. So it was an honour to host our first poetry event at Cygnet Churchill for the 13th of June during Carers Week 2025
This Blog explores the themes, experiences, and creative expressions shared by carers, drawing from a vibrant community event centered on poetry, storytelling, and the lived realities of those who care. Through their words, we gain insight into the emotional landscape of caring, the challenges faced, and the resilience that emerges when stories are shared.
To watch the performance, please view the video below.
Giving Carers a Voice: The Motivation Behind the Book
The host of the event was myself (Matthew McKenzie), as a prolific author and advocate, where I have dedicated my eighth book to amplifying the voices of mental health carers. For me, books are more than just a means of communication they are a way to reach people who might otherwise remain unheard.
Caring for someone with a mental illness is an emotional, often isolating experience. Unpaid carers—whether they are family members, friends, or loved ones—carry immense responsibility, yet their voices can feel unheard, especially within the healthcare system.
One of my poem’s “On Being Heard” taken from my book The Poetry Book of Mental Health Caring, captures this struggle with raw honesty.
A Caring Mind 