About us

Manchester Carers Forum exists both for carers, and because of, carers. We are carer established and carer led. In 1993 a group of carers in Manchester set up a forum to share their experiences and make their voices heard. They wanted to make sure that what carers do is valued and that carers receive the support they need to continue to care. In the years since, the team at Manchester Carers Forum has built on these founding principles.

In 2001 Dave Williams was appointed as the Forum’s first member of staff, later becoming our Chief Officer. Dave strengthened the organisation to allow us to become a registered charity in 2004, and continued to develop the Forum over the subsequent years. Sadly, Dave died in 2025 and we honour his memory here.

We continue to be directed by carers to act on and develop our original vision and mission. Our vision is for every carer in Manchester to have access to the right support at the right time in the right place.

Carers Manchester

We achieve this through our mission:

  • Working with others to improve support for carers
  • A reliable resource for carers to turn to for support
  • Connecting carers with other carers
  • Enabling carers to have a voice

And through our values:

  • Committed to partnership working
  • Open to all carers in Manchester
  • Independent and innovative
  • Inclusive
  • Celebrating diversity
Small group of carers

Caring is an equality issue. We inform carers of their rights and we act as a voice for carers in the city, as well as supporting carers to use their voices. We want carers to feel valued and heard.

We recognise the impact caring can have on mental health and we provide support to improve carer wellbeing. We also know how incredibly important short breaks and social opportunities are to support carers to keep on caring, if this is what they want to do. Our breaks are primarily delivered through groups, trips, walks, and breaks away.

As people are often carers for many years, our support is not time limited. We are an ongoing source of support to carers throughout their caring journey. We are here for as long as carers feel they need us, including post-caring. Life after caring is a challenging journey to navigate. For some carers they choose to stop accessing any form of carer support early on, but for many the withdrawal of such support can cut them adrift. Rather than set time-limits for this we instead allow carers to decide for themselves when they no longer need our support. Many carers later become volunteers.