Contact Us Today:
Email: carerscommunitychamps@stgilestrust.org.uk
Louise Bennett: Trainer Assessor, Mobile: 07436 126 154
Adam Mewes: Peer Hub Coordinator, Mobile: 07570293022
More information:
Unpaid careers face a multitude of challenges including social isolation, lack of support network, lack of knowledge of available support, difficulty maintaining employment, a place to feel heard.
Our Carer Community Champion project aims to support unpaid carers in these areas and train them as community champions with free training enabling them to build their skills, knowledge and confidence whilst also forming strong local connections with other unpaid carers.
We are working in partnership with Caring together and Carers Matter Norfolk who will provide an additional session to participants, helping them to understand what is available to them as unpaid carers and where they and their peers can get support.
We will also work with them to provide volunteering opportunities to participants who have the time to take on a voluntary role and further develop their skills.
A client who trained with us said:
‘I’ve met some really lovely people and they’ve become my friends. You know, I’m in contact with them as well. But being someone that really had no friends or no one to talk to, now everywhere I go I feel I know someone I can go talk to. It’s our community. I lived here but never knew what was going on.’
The Training
The training will be based on St Giles tried and tested Learning to Advise course. This is a City and Guilds Assured course which develops skills in providing Information, Advice and Guidance.
Delivery will by hybrid with some taking place online but the majority face to face. We will also work with Caring Together to include information specific to unpaid carers.
The Learning to Advise course covers topics such as:
- Dynamics of Advice and Guidance
- Communication skills
- Introduction to policies for advice and guidance
- Safeguarding
- Inclusivity, boundaries and non-judgemental practice
- Recording information
- Referrals and signposting
- Dealing with difficult situations
- Goals, aspirations and progress
The training will support people to develop the skills to give information, advice and guidance to their peers. Bringing together a group will be an opportunity for unpaid careers to build strong social connections in their local area, develop new skills to support each other and other unpaid carers, create a supportive environment where their voices and opinions matter and are heard and develop new skills which might support them on a new career path in the future
Caring together/Carers Matter Norfolk will be our partner for this project. They will provide an additional session to participants, helping them to understand what is available to them as unpaid carers and where they and their peers can get support. We will also work with them to provide volunteering opportunities to participants who have the time to take on a voluntary role and further develop their skills.