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It's nearly time! Here you'll find full details for the day and information about some of the amazing people involved.
Morning breakout room facilitators:
Mental Health - Kiran Toora, SWLStG Mental Health NHS Trust
Dementia - Hilary Dodd, Age UK Sutton
Parent Carers and Learning Disabilities - Christiana Torricelli, LBS
Physical, sensory and long term conditions - Donna Wiggins LBS
Young Carers & Young Adult Carers - Shona Harris & Jennifer Dixon-Ashun, LBS
End of Life - Steve Triner, Citizens Advice Sutton
Afternoon breakout room facilitators:
Carer health and wellbeing including inequalities - Cassandra Blowers, Carer and Inclusion Specialist
Finance/Benefits/Housing/Employment - Steve Triner, Citizens Advice Sutton
Hospital Discharge - Claire Thrower & Rachella Lartey, LBS
Carers Assessments (including respite/covering care/contingency planning) - Shona Harris, LBS
Primary (GP) Care and access to community-based services - Fern Barber, LBS
What could your future Carers Centre look like? - Rachael MacLeod, SCC
Meet our Guest Speakers!
Kirsty McHugh, Chief Executive Officer, Carers Trust
Kirsty joined Carers Trust in February 2022. With extensive experience of working in the voluntary sector in a variety of public affairs and delivery roles, Kirsty has a deep commitment to improving the life opportunities of those from disadvantaged communities.
Before joining Carers Trust, she had 11 years’ experience as CEO of the Mayor’s Fund for London and the Employment Related Services Association. Before that Kirsty served as a director at Business in the Community, where she led community programmes across England and Wales.
She is a non-executive director of Gateway Housing Association in East London and has served as a panel member for the National Lottery’s Building Better Opportunities Fund.
Kirsty also has first-hand experience of what it means to be an unpaid carer. She has cared for a close family member approaching end of life, and for another with a long-term disability.
Cassandra Blowers, Carer & Inclusion Specialist
Cassandra came to live in the UK when she was 10-years-old from Zambia. She is a Carer for two elder households and has also supported family members with mental health difficulties as well as having been a paid care-worker in her early career.
In recent years, she has worked as an inclusion specialist within the NHS. This extends across many disciplines in health and social care to include Acute and Mental Health services, and most recently, an Integrated Care Board (ICB) supporting both its workforce and service users.
Cassandra is a Inclusion Coach and Mentor for staff, to help them achieve their goals as well as being a Freedom To Speak Up Guardian.
Her past voluntary roles have included being an Executive Panel Member for both the Brighton Lusaka Health Link and the Brighton and Hove Racial Harassment Forum. She also has spent four years being a Judge for the national HSJ Partnership Awards.
When not working or caring, Cassandra enjoys exploring a good coffee shop that bakes on the premises and spending time with her grand-daughters.
It's all about the new Carers Strategy - all about you...
When thinking about the Carers Strategy, we asked for design ideas, and Young Carer Miles J came up with more than one. Look out for Miles' artwork which will be featured around the Conference and for the published Carers Strategy.
I am Miles J, aged 16, and a Young Carer who lives and studies within the Sutton. My inspirations have been from kids cartoon shows which had led into a love of anime. Yana Toboso, a Japanese artist who illustrates manga artwork has inspired me with the style of art that I use. My love of art began in year 5 when I drew Steven Universe characters, that is where it all began.
Personal challenges that I have faced have been associated with social situations. I have been disliked due to differences of interest and expressions, which has led to me wanting to be part of change. One positive experience of being a Young Carer is that caring has enabled me to be more understanding as a person, which allows me to understand the importance of treating each individual as a person regardless of differences.
My future aspirations are to become a fashion designer and implement positive changes in the world.
Life's journey as a Carer by Miles J
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