Forward Carers CIC Carers Event 2025

Forward Carers Event 2025

On Monday 9th of June 2025, our lovely volunteers went along to Forward Carers CIC Carers event 2025 at Symphony Hall in Birmingham to bang our Xpress-Yourself Dance drum 🥁 as part of carers week 2025!

Carers Week 2025 took place from Monday, 9th June – Sunday, 15th June. This year, Carers UK chose to highlight ‘Caring about Equality’, highlighting the inequalities unpaid carers face, such as social isolation, greater risk of poverty, and poor mental and physical health.

Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said:

“Caring for a loved one should never be a reason for facing inequality, but sadly this is a reality for many in the UK. Unpaid carers are desperate for a break, for better health and social care provision, financial support and equality in the workplace. Over half say they need better understanding and recognition from the public.

“Carers Week 2025 is a crucial opportunity to increase awareness, highlighting those who provide vital care to family members, friends or neighbours when they need it most. We want to see a future where they have the right support and the same opportunities to lead healthy and financially secure lives alongside their caring role.”

This is why Carers Week UK is so important; events like this truly can make a difference.

The event consisted of many different organisations that provide carers with information, activities, and community groups to support them and the people they are caring for. Attendees had the chance to meet Birmingham Carers Hub partners, try relaxation sessions such as chair yoga, enjoy a speech from special guest speaker Stuart Lackenby, who is Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health, and enjoy light refreshments throughout the day.

We want to give a huge thank you to our very own ‘Pink Ladies’ Tina Hackett, Tina Warren, Tracey Coleman, Chris Spink and Barbara Hall who were on their feet all day and promoting our amazing classes at the event. They chatted, smiled, promoted and even had a dance or two! We couldn’t of done it without you ladies! 🩷

Here’s what our amazing volunteers had to say about the event:

‘It was great to meet up with everyone and show off what we do!’

‘We had a great day, what a wonderful team Xpress Yourself dancers are’

‘We had a ball, it makes me think when is the next one!’

We are so pleased our volunteers were able to enjoy their day whilst catching up with other Keep Dancing dancers and sharing their stories with the carers of Birmingham! If getting involved with volunteering for Xpress-Yourself Dance in the future sounds like something for you please share your interest with Amelia at admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk

Who was there on the day? – If you are a carer or know someone who is a carer, take a look at the links to all the organisations at the event below!

Information and Wellbeing

Forward Carers – Carers Voice – a platform for carers around the UK to share their voice’s

Headway Birmingham and Solihull – a local charity that gives support to people affected by brain injuries

Birmingham Carers Hub – provides support for carers in Birmingham

Cruse Bereavement Support – provides bereavement support, information and training for anyone who has lost someone

Ashiana Community Project – works with the community to bride the gaps in inequality

Chinese Community Centre – offers a range of support for unpaid carers, as well as wellbeing drop in sessions

Kissing It Better – a charity working to end the isolation of older adults by bringing together generations

Birmingham Buddhist Centre – has carer specific breaks and groups such as yoga and tai chi

Dementia Carers Count – provides information for carers of people with Dementia

Alzheimer’s Society – gives help to those living with Dementia and hope for a better future

Age UK Birmingham – a charity that provides information, advice, activities and events for those over 50 living in Birmingham

Age Concern Birmingham – a local charity, committed to the people and communities surrounding Birmingham

Midland Mencap –  provides a wide range of housing, care and support services and community based activities and opportunities to adults, children, young people and family carers across Birmingham

Families

YMCA – supporting young people with a range of services to max their potential

Action for Children – a charity that takes action for children who need help to thrive, they work in three ways: intervention, prevention, and advocacy,

Birmingham Young Carers Service – helping to support young carers

Midland Mencap – Short breaks – rest bite and short break services for carers

BREWS – supporting Neurodivergent families in Birmingham

Xpress-Yourself Dance – dance classes for over 50s, specific carers online and in person classes

OSCAR Birmingham – Organisation for Sickle Cell Anaemia Relief and Thalassaemia Support 

Autism West Midlands – offers a range of services for Autistic people and their families across the region

Sense – personalised, creative and flexible support for disabled people with complex needs

Social Care

Utility Warehouse – services and cashback for help with household bills

Birmingham City Council – Aids and Adaptations, Social Care, Occupational Health, Information and Guidance

NHS Organisations – support for carers within the NHS

Fircroft College – Fircroft College offers a range of courses in personal and social development, education, English, maths and IT, ESOL, and working and volunteering with people

Travel West Midlands – bus, train timetables around the west midlands

National Energy Foundation – works with communities to create healthy homes and cut energy bills

Domestic Abuse Prevention and Strategy – PDF by Birmingham City Council

Act on Energy – helping the people of Birmingham live in warmer, more energy-efficient homes.

Gateway Family Services – tackles health inequalities in Birmingham

Forward Carers – Health Liason – provides resources for how best to support carers

University Hospitals Birmingham –

Birmingham Community Healthcare trust – Delivering a wide range of integrated community and specialist NHS services in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.

Lisuex Trust – Supporting adults with a learning disability and adults on the autism spectrum to live happy, enriched lives; full of opportunity and choice.

Birmingham Shared Lives – specialising in the provision of services relating to caring for adults over 65 yrs, caring for adults under 65 yrs, dementia, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, personal care, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. 

Midland Mencap Pure and Housing – a project that supports people with complex needs towards education, training or employment. The scheme is all about building confidence and developing useful skills

Carers Emergency Response Service – FREE emergency back up service to provide support to those caring for a dependent family member, neighbour or friend living in Birmingham.

Communities Engage and Thrive – ‘Our mission is to reduce health inequalities and improve the quality of life for all adults and children by providing them with the tools to make healthier choices for physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.’

BCC Occupational Health – Occupational Health service for adults in Birmingham

Healthwatch Birmingham – Giving you a voice on local health and social care

BSMHFT – Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust provides a comprehensive health care service to those people living in Birmingham and Solihull who are experiencing mental health problems.

Wellbeing and Relaxation

Barefoot Birmingham – Yoga Studio with free yoga for carers

RESET Health Group – fully funded counselling, somatic sessions for carers

Resources for Carers at Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC

Here at Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC we support carers. If you feel like you need additional support or advice we can make a referral to Birmingham Carers Hub. Please do just get in touch with us, we are happy to help.

In addition to our carer classes on offer, we are also happy to provide resources to help support carers and hopefully make their responsibilities a little easier – we are more than happy to help!

We have compiled all our resources into one handy blog post for you! There is information about support, activities for carers and information about Carers IF card. Click here to access the blog!

Don’t forget we have a FREE pre-recorded downloadable class for carers. A monthly half-hour session for those unable to join us for our online or in-person carer classes, but don’t want to miss out on the dancing. After booking the class, you will receive a link via email to download the video. The link will expire within 7 days.

You can book Keep Dancing for Carers classes here

Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC run weekly Keep Dancing classes, suitable for older adults across, Birmingham, Solihull, Walsall, Sandwell and online. Keep Dancing will teach you dances from around the world with no need for a dance partner. Find your nearest Keep Dancing class here.     

To find out more about Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC follow us on Facebook.     

Thank you for checking out our Carers Week Event information blog. Look after yourselves and Keep Dancing!

Let’s make Birmingham a better place for Carers! 🌈

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