Kinship carer from Shipley and Kinship volunteer peer support group co-leader

I became a Kinship volunteer peer support group leader four years ago after I was encouraged by a Kinship staff member. I am a kinship carer to my three grandchildren and I said yes because I felt that I could take on the role as we were by that point a little more settled as a kinship family.

I recently began co-leading the group with another kinship carer, Teresa, because I wanted to have a little more support. We are a large group of over 40 kinship carers and I take part in many other kinship care activities including leading talks, campaigning in Westminster to share the challenges the group are facing and taking part in kinship care research, so Teresa’s support has been incredible. She has so much knowledge, both from her personal experience, as well as having worked in a local authority. Together we also put on Christmas parties and plan other fun activities with our kinship children – it’s so valuable for our children to meet others in similar situations to them.

One of the many reasons why I volunteer is that I want kinship carers to have a voice. Peer support groups are a safe place for kinship carers to come together and get what they need to off their chests and share some of the emotional struggles they face. We used to meet in a pub but now we meet in a library which has helped the group has just grow and grow. Without the group, we’d have so many kinship carers with nobody to turn to in our area. Many kinship families would be struggling.

Myself, Teresa and the group have been able to meet with the local authority, which has helped many relationships improve between kinship families and Children’s Services. It took over a year and a half for me to meet my MP but now we’re in a place where he’s always ringing me to champion the needs of kinship carers! As a group, we draw on everybody’s experience – some people have worked in the tax office, while others have organising and campaigning experience. We just helped one kinship carer who had a £17,000 tax bill better understand his financial rights. The bill has now been dropped and he is unbelievably relieved. Teresa and I also attend Kinship Roadshows which are a great place to meet other kinship carers in the area and invite them along to the group. All of these activities have a massive ripple effect on the strength of the group. We’re all on the same page.

I’ve also had a lot of support from the Kinship team who support the group leaders network. Teresa and I are part of a WhatsApp group, and we attend monthly meetings with other peer support group leaders where we share learnings.

Volunteering makes me feel great. Without the group and without this role I think I might have fallen into depression. I have this passion now to make things better for others by fighting and organising with the group. I deliver talks to other charities and rotaries, as well as taking up every opportunity available to make change locally and nationally. For me it’s about putting back into what I believe is right.