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| Linda Sowden – Chair |
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Linda is a founding
member of Manchester Carers Forum and has been involved
since its first meeting in 1993. Linda cares for her
uncle who has had cerebral palsy. Before Manchester
Carers Forum’s (MCF) creation, Linda regarded
Social Services in an extremely unfavorable light but
over the years MCF has worked to bring down barriers
and improve life for carers. Manchester Carers Forum
has given Carers a voice and a sense of belonging, so
that they are a force to be reckoned with. We have made
progress through careful negotiation instead of banging
on tables and shouting at statutory agencies. We will
continue to make progress and improve life for carers. |
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| Annette Baker – Deputy Chair |
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Annette has
three children, the youngest of whom has Down’s
syndrome. Annette is a regular attendee at the MCF forum
meetings and is a member of the Carers Strategy Meeting
Group. Annette has encouraged numerous carers to become
members of MCF and these people have enjoyed all the
care, encouragement and information that have been made
available to them from the forum. Although Annette is
a parent carer of a young child, her education about
carers has included all the different kinds of caring
that is done in the home, many of which go unnoticed.
Annette believes that MCF will be the voice that helps
to change many aspects of a carer’s life. Annette
feels strongly about the rights of carers and is fully
committed to Manchester Carers Forum and its good work
as the ‘Voice of Carers’. |
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| Gaynor Morgan |
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Gaynor
has been a carer for over 20 years and a member of Manchester
Carers Forum for nearly five years. She cares for her
two sons, one who has a learning disability and the
other who has substance misuse problems. She has received
a lot of support from being a member of the Forum and
she would now like to use her experience and acquired
knowledge of being a trustee to support other carers
with their caring roles.
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| Denise Jackson |
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Denise
cares for her daughter who has a learning disability.
Her daughter is now 50 years old and lives at home with
Denise. As well as caring for her daughter, Denise used
to care for her mother before her death over ten years
ago. It was around the time of her mothers death that
Denise became aware of MCF. In the past Denise has been
on some of the MCF breaks and training courses and she
found that they made a 'life saving' difference to her.
Up until recently Denise had been involved with the
running of a social club called 'The Open Door' but
sadly this has now ceased to exist and so she has additional
time on her hands and she would like to use this time
productively by being a trustee with MCF.
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| Anne
Billington |
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As
a carer, Anne is aware of the constant struggle that
carers face to get what they were entitled to. Anne
believes that it is OK for service providers and commissioners
to tell carers what is available to them but they rarely
tell carers that they will still have to fight and struggle
to get these things. It is only with the help of places
like Manchester Carers Forum that carers may be able
to change this and make it easier for ALL carers to
get their entitlements and not just an elite few who
happen to ask the right people at the right time. Anne
hopes that by being part of the MCF team, she can help
make it possible for as many carers as possible to access
the services that they are entitled to.
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| Melvyn
Sandler |
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many years Melvyn has been caring for various members
of his family and over the past 8 years he and his wife
have been jointly caring for his mother who is now aged
86. Melvyn and his wife found that their caring role
increased in intensity following his mothers hip replacement
as she became housebound and increasingly dependent
on their help and support. As the intensity and the
level of care increased, the realisation hit Melvyn
and his wife that they as carers also needed care. Melvyn
has been a member of MCF for over 12 months and during
this time he has been impressed with the sterling service
the organisation provides to carers.
Melvyn
has in the past worked in various roles where it has
been necessary to listen to people, make decisions and
see actions through to completion.
With
his involvement at the Forum he has seen first hand
how MCF helps carers to continue with their demanding
and often unrecognised contribution to society. Melvyn
would like to keep MCF growing from strength to strength
and he hopes to bring new ideas to MCF and support
the ongoing works.
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| Susan
Samson |
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Susan
has retired from her paid work as a Local Authority
officer working in the area of equipment and adaptations.
As she cares for both her sister and her granddaughter
who both have very different care needs, she finds that
her retirement is pretty FULL!. As well as becoming
a trustee of MCF Susan is a board member of a local
learning disability charity. Susan is committed to working
to improve the lives of carers by advocating on their
behalf in a variety of places. Her experience of working
within the Local Authority is of great benefit to the
Forum and she looks forward to being able to continue
to work to bring about improvements for both carers
and those for whom they care.
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| Staff |
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| Dave Williams – Project
Manager |
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Together
with the Board of Trustees, Dave has responsibility
for the overall management of
the Forum and its staff . He is responsible
for the development of strategy and he works
with various partners and partner organisations
in both the statutory and voluntary sector in
the development of policy to address carer's needs.
He represents the Forum at local, regional and
national level on a variety of working groups.
Dave negotiates contracts with Funders and has
overlooks the work of the Forum, reporting directly
to the Board of Trustees and executing their decisions.
He also works with the universities of Manchester
and Salford and contributes to their Social Care
Degree programmes.
Email:
Dave
Williams |
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| Rick Mitchinson- Assistant
Manager |
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Rick
takes the lead in enabling groups of carers to
access support services. He manages the work of
the Forum with regard to all Education & Leisure
services and he has the responsibility over all
financial matters. Rick also takes the lead with
organising group breaks for carers and takes the
lead with negotiating costings with various service
providers to ensure that Manchester carers receive
excellent services that stay within MCF's budget.
Email:
Rick
Mitchinson
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| Nat
O'Brien - Carers Information
and Development Officer |
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Nat
also began working at MCF on the 18th of September
2006. Nat has the responsibility of developing
current carers support groups and to create new
opportunities where a need has been identified.
He also plays a significant role in organising
leisure and education activities for carers such
as the Carers Book Club, the Moving and Handling
course and the Carers Allotments Project
Email:
Nat
O'Brien
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| Rochelle
Jones - Young Carers Development Officer |
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Rochelle
is responsible for the management of the monthly Young
& Unique sessions where young carers are encouraged
to have a voice whilst participating in an activity.
This provides young carers with the opportunity to have
a break from their caring role.
In
addition, Rochelle works in school environments and
provides training sessions to teachers and pupils to
raise awareness of the needs and issues of young carers.
Rochelle also refers young carers onto other agencies
including Connexions and counseling services when required.
Email:
Rochelle
Jones
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