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.

Continue reading →