Kinship carer and Kinship volunteer peer support group leader

I became a Kinship volunteer peer support group leader four years ago. I decided to take on this role because I just wanted to help people in my local area. I have been a kinship carer to my grandchildren for over ten years and I believe kinship families need support from somebody who’s been through it.

When I became a volunteer, I took part in multiple training sessions led by Kinship staff. I’m also part of a WhatsApp group for peer support group leaders which is great to dip into when needed. In my role, I make sure to let kinship carers know what training and support through Kinship is available. But mostly we just sit together and chat. Everybody is so inspiring. Every single kinship carer in the group is a fighter. They fight for their children.

I want all kinship carers to have the support that I struggled to find at the beginning. Recently I supported an aunt kinship carer who was dealing with her sister’s bereavement, and I made sure that she knew there were Kinship workshops and bereavement groups that she could attend. I think that without the group there would be a lot of kinship carers with mental health problems. It would be a grim existence.

As a parish priest I know many people in the community, so I draw on this to make change for kinship families. I have lead talks educating doctors at our local GP practice, as well as teachers during wellbeing sections of inset days at the local schools. I have changed how schools collate admissions data and the local MP has also visited our group to learn about the challenges kinship carers face. We were able to challenge him on what he would do to support kinship families. I am also currently working with the Church of England to introduce paid leave for kinship carers. This has been an uphill battle, but I am determined to secure this for future kinship carers ahead of my retirement in three years.

If you’re a kinship carer or you’re passionate about kinship care then give being a volunteer peer support group leader a go. If in your gut you know you want to help, then do it. I’ve learned so much from the group and we’re all in it together. Sometimes I can be a little hard on myself, but the group is always there to remind that I’m doing my best. When kinship carers work together to support each other, there’s no stopping us.