Trustees and Staff

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’.

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.

Sue Samson - Deputy Chair

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

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.

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.

Over 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.