Exclusive: In conversation with Carers Trust Solihull

Jun

2025

There are 5.8 million people in the UK caring for a family member, friend or neighbour, who is ill, older or disabled. Of this significant number, 1 in 5 is a young carer. To understand more about this ‘hidden workforce’ and in acknowledgement of this year’s Carers Week, which runs from 9th to 15th June, we spoke exclusively to some of the incredible team at the charity Carers Trust Solihull, which is not only taking part in Carers Week this and every year, but also one of Sydney Mitchell’s charities of the year.

Caring about Equality

The theme for this year’s Carers Week is 'Caring About Equality', highlighting the inequalities faced by unpaid carers, including a greater risk of poverty, social isolation, poor mental and physical health. The campaign is also an opportunity to increase awareness of the millions of people who provide vital care to family members, friends or neighbours when they need it most.

Caring for someone can have a significant impact on a carer’s own health, finances, employment and education opportunities. A 2024 GP Patient Survey found that 70% of carers report a long term physical or mental health condition, disability or illness, compared to 50% of non-carers. Far too often, carers of all ages miss out on opportunities in their education, careers, or personal lives, just because of their caring role.

Carers Trust Solihull

Carers Trust Solihull supports carer’s emotional and physical wellbeing, preventing crisis and keeping families together. Its mission is to support all unpaid carers in Solihull. The charity delivers a truly unique person-specific approach, offering free and meaningful support to unpaid carers. By working with education, businesses and the voluntary sector, as well as the health and social care services, the charity has proven time and again that its support helps to truly improve the lives of unpaid carers in Solihull.

Carers Trust Solihull not only helps support adult carers but also a consistently growing number of active children carers. By providing its specialist support and services, Carers Trust Solihull is ensuring that carers are provided with the resources, support and opportunities they need to continue functioning in the workplace or at school, and are given the tools, and time, to look after their own health and wellbeing.

We sat down with Brandon Scott-Omenka, Chief Executive Officer and Partnership Manager, Pauline Manby, to find out more and help us better understand the work of Carers Trust Solihull and the unpaid carers they support.

Q What makes Carers Trust Solihull unique?

A Our charity doesn’t believe in one-size-fits-all support – every carer’s journey is different, and so is the help we offer. We take the time to listen, understand, and respond in a way that’s right for each individual. We’re not just a service; we’re a community. Authentic, caring, and committed – we’re here to walk alongside every carer, every step of the way. We empower carers to live fulfilling lives, not defined by their caring role, and ensure their voices are heard, respected, and valued. Other support services and their providers tend to understandably focus on those being cared for; what is different about Carers Trust is our focus on the wellbeing of the carer themselves. We place the carer at the centre of all we do.

Our mission extends beyond mere support. We aim to inspire hope, preserve dignity, raise community-wide awareness of the critical role of unpaid carers, and bolster their resilience and well-being.

Q What sort of help does Carers Trust provide?

A Our services, which include emotional support, practical assistance, well-being assessments, and respite breaks, are a vital lifeline. The sitting service, for instance, provides a carer with a few hours to leave their home knowing the person they care for will be watched over by a compassionate sitter, particularly as the cared-for person approaches their end of life. This volunteer-based support is invaluable, and embodies our core values of empathy and respect. Many of our young carer’s activities are all about fun!

Q How many families does Carers Trust Solihull work with?

A In an average year, we support more than 5,000 carers who are registered with us. Of these, 780 are young carers, and 1029 are parent carers. We provide every one of them with information and advice.

We tend to work more closely with around 2000 of the carers registered with us, each of whom makes an average of six contacts each year. This can include intensive support or basic information and advice, depending on the need. The other carers registered with us make more ad-hoc contact with our team, when they have a need for support or information.

Q What are the core initiatives and programmes that Carers Trust Solihull has planned for 2025/2026?

A Our annual core events are Carers Week, Carers Rights Day, and Young Carers Action Day, which are national campaigns arranged by other organisations and in which we take part. In addition, there are our own signature events, including those run with our corporate supporters including Sydney Mitchell.

This year, we also plan to redesign our services, and one area we are looking at is Artificial Intelligence and how using this can enable us to reach out to more carers.

Q Have the changes in policy and government affected local carers?

A The issue for carers’ support first came to the fore in the mid to late nineties, as more and more people were being discharged from hospital but needed support at home, and this fell to their loved ones. Another issue is the UK’s aging population, but this is increasingly on the public’s and politician’s radar, and this awareness is certainly helping understanding and action.

Another of the big issues is that of the pressure on young carers who are often leading double lives, unable to do their homework or have a social life because they are supporting a sibling or parent with a major illness or disability.

Support and acknowledgement for all of these issues come in the form of Social Services Carers Assessments and Carers Strategies that seek to commission or grant carer support aid in the charity sector. The wellbeing of carers was top of the Wellbeing Assessment Model when it was introduced in 2015. Since then, the importance of carers as a massive alternative unpaid care force and the fabric of community care has impacted all governments. Over the years, some of the support for the cared-for has been rationalised and reduced, with local and regional councils forced to make difficult decisions. Any changes in benefit support to the cared-for of course can also have an impact on the carer.

Here in Solihull and for our registered carers, we have benefited from consistent support from our principal funder and commissioner Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. But we are never complacent, and continue to work hard to generate additional support, funding and donations to enable us to reach out to and support more carers.

Q A survey carried out by the BBC (see: www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/Being_a_young_carer) found that 1 in 5 people young people are caring in England. What additional help and support does Carers Trust Solihull offer to these young people?

A We understand the unique challenges young carers face - many of whom care in silence. With 1 in 5 young people in England now providing care, our role has never been more vital. Indeed, Carers Trust Solihull currently has far more registered young carers than the national census suggests, meaning we are reaching many more young carers in and around Solihull than those in other parts of the UK.

Our Peer Mentoring and Befriending project offers young carers aged 8-plus, consistent, meaningful support from trained young carers aged 12–25 who have walked a similar path. This trusted peer-to-peer model helps build emotional resilience, social confidence, and a greater sense of belonging.

In addition to mentoring, we empower young carers to become ambassadors, advocating for change in schools, and raising awareness through assemblies and drop-ins. When mentors step down, they can become young leaders, supporting staff and inspiring younger mentees during group activities.

The need for support for this faction of the carer community is significant - out of the 815 young carers known to us, 35% request direct emotional or school-based support. Our mentoring programme helps meet this growing demand by extending our reach beyond our small team of three full-time and five part-time staff.

Through fun group sessions, one-to-one mentoring, and structured training, our programme not only offers practical help, but also builds brighter futures. Every young carer deserves to feel seen, supported, and capable of thriving. Our work helps ensure they are.

Q What additional support can other family members and friends offer those that are caring for someone?

A Carers’ biggest problems are unreliability of support, and isolation. Carers that register with us and do not require intensive support are probably supported by families and friends, who are available to give them a break when they need to step away from caring, take a well-deserved break or even go to the dentist or doctor. Sharing the burden consistently, maybe once a week or month or during school holidays, can give a friend or family member that moment of ‘me time’ that can make all the difference.

Family members and friends can also offer vital emotional support with a listening ear without judgement, and by encouraging the carer to talk about how they feel. At Carers Trust Solihull, we’ve seen how small acts such as helping with household tasks, providing a break from caring, or simply checking in regularly, can make a big difference. Encouraging carers to access our services, including respite activities, peer support groups, and wellbeing sessions, ensures they don’t feel alone and helps them to protect their own health and wellbeing, which is so important.

Q Many carers also work. How can employers seek to understand and support their working carers?

A The first step for employers is to provide a platform where employees feel safe to identify as carers, with the confidence that they will be embraced, supported, and not discriminated against.

Understanding their responsibilities outside of work is critical. Flexible working, clear communication, and access to carer-friendly policies all help balance work and caring duties. For instance, an employer could seek to offer flexible work options, such as:

home working
part-time working
term-time working
compressed hours
staggered hours
annualised hours
flexitime
shift working
job sharing
Four days of statutory unpaid leave.

Recognising carers through awareness training and creating a supportive culture ensures working carers feel valued, understood, and respected.

Employers should understand that an emergency situation for the cared-for could happen, and could be:

a disruption or breakdown in care arrangements
the death of a dependent
if a dependent falls ill or is in an accident
to make longer-term arrangements for a dependent who is ill or injured, or
an incident involving a child during school hours.

Q How does support and work from corporate organisations such as Sydney Mitchell help the trust?

A Support from corporate organisations like Sydney Mitchell is invaluable to Carers Trust Solihull. The firm’s years of committed educational, promotional, financial, and heartfelt backing have played a vital role in helping us deliver our mission to support unpaid carers. From raising awareness within the community, to providing essential funding, their unwavering support has meant we have been able to extend our services, develop new initiatives, and reach even more carers in need who are isolated and hard to reach.

The Sydney Mitchell team’s genuine care and unwavering dedication have helped raise the profile of young and adult carers across Solihull, ensuring they are recognised, understood, and not alone. Their team has gone above and beyond, not just as professionals but as passionate advocates who understand the challenges carers face.

The support from Sydney Mitchell extends to a boost to the charity’s awareness and publicity for it and our work, hours and hours of free high quality training for our carers, and valuable donations that enable us to buy equipment or contract extras staff hours or support using our volunteers vouchers.

As well as its fundraising efforts, Sydney Mitchell also organises and delivers many free seminars for our team and our registered carers, to explain important documents such as Lasting Power of Attorney and the importance of making will.

Thanks to this meaningful partnership, we continue to provide life-changing support and opportunities for carers, empowering them to thrive, not just survive. We are deeply grateful for Sydney Mitchell’s enduring support and proud to call them not just partners, but champions of our cause. Their commitment uplifts everything we do.