Reflecting on Carers Week 2023
Carers Week 2023 took place from 5th - 11th June, and served as a vital platform for raising awareness about unpaid, informal caring. This annual campaign aims to highlight the challenges faced by carers while acknowledging their invaluable efforts.
At MECOPP, we recognise the diversity within the caring community and strive to elevate the voices and experiences of BME carers, and carers with one or more protected characteristics, during Carers Week and beyond.
Embracing the Diversity of Caring:
In Scotland alone, an estimated 800,000 individuals are unpaid carers. MECOPP strives to elevate the diversity within the caregiving community, because BME carers face unique challenges in their care-giving role. BME carers are more likely to:
Be financially insecure,
Not have English as a first language,
Be mistrustful of systems that historically haven’t worked for them.
It is crucial to recognise and address these specific needs, fostering an inclusive environment that supports all carers.
Identifying Carers:
3 out of 5 people will assume the role of a carer at some point in their lives. However, a major issue lies in BME individuals not recognising themselves as carers and subsequently not seeking the support they are entitled to.
MECOPP during Carers Week
Carers Inc:
MECOPP plays a crucial role in ensuring that carers are informed about their rights and have access to essential information, particularly those whose first language is not English.
As part of Carers Week, we launched ‘Carers Inc’, a package of resources designed to support local carer centres in identifying BME carers and informing them of their rights and entitlements. These resources, including booklets, posters and accompanying videos, are available in nine community languages, and aim to make carers’ lives more manageable by empowering them with vital information.
The full Carers Inc resource package can be found here, or watch a snippet below.
Carers in Kind:
We were delighted to host Emma Roddick, Minister for Equalities, at our flagship event - ‘Carers in Kind’ – bringing together over 60 carers to enjoy food, mocktails, complementary therapies and wellbeing goodies. The Minister also took the opportunity to hear firsthand from carers about their concerns.
Advocacy:
We’re proud to be the only charity in Scotland dedicated to representing the needs of BME carers. As such, we contribute to policy discussions with the Scottish Government, advocating for BME carers’ rights on a national level.
We recently launched our latest briefing sheet, holding Scotland’s local authority areas to account for their legal duties under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016.
During Carers Week, our staff also had the opportunity to share their experiences of supporting BME carers with Tommy Sheppard MP.
How You Can Help
You can help us in our mission by sharing our initiatives with carers you know. Spread the word and encourage them to explore our resources!
Additionally, if you would like to support our ongoing efforts as a charity, please consider making a donation. Your support allows us to keep doing what we do, and organise events like Carers in Kind to promote the wellbeing of our carers.
We remain dedicated to empowering BME carers, ensuring their voices are heard, and providing the resources they need to thrive.
