Our Mental Health Carer Cafes, which are delivered in partnership with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP), were created in direct response to the growing need for support among unpaid carers looking after loved ones with mental ill health.
Caring for someone with a mental health condition can be especially challenging due to the unpredictable nature of symptoms, emotional strain, and the isolating experience of navigating complex health and social care systems. Many carers in this situation find themselves overwhelmed, unsupported, and unsure where to turn.
These cafes offer a welcoming, non-judgemental space where carers can share experiences, listen and chat to others, and access vital information and emotional support. Peer support is a central part of the support we offer at Carer Support Wiltshire. It allows individuals to connect with others who understand the challenges they face, and this connection can help reduce feelings of loneliness, build resilience, and foster a sense of community.
Our fantastic volunteer at the Trowbridge Mental Health Carer Cafe, Cilla, has shared a “Day in the Life” account, offering a personal view into what you can expect from one of our peer support groups.
‘Being a volunteer at a Mental Health Café was something I wasn’t sure I was qualified to do. I had cared for my father who was only in the early stage of dementia, which was almost indiscernible from old age.
When the call came out for volunteers to help it was on a temporary basis, I was already a volunteer at a Carer Cafe, and as the venue was next door I felt I should help, several months later when the first Cafe was due to take place, I had forgotten all about it! Not an auspicious start but I haven’t missed one since, and my worries about not being of much help soon dissipated.
Apparently the first Cafe had been emotional with tears and tissue abounding. But once the Cafes got underway (under the watchful eye of our resident expert Teresa) there was a shift in the atmosphere of the cafe; advice was still sought and given, but over the months the mood changed.
Of course, support was still required, the carers still came needing to offload their worries and frustrations as always, after all that is what the Cafes are for, but on top of that there was a camaraderie, there were now times for laughter, some of the carers had funny stories that interspersed the more serious conversations.
My main function I felt was to keep the beverages flowing, and I now very rarely need to ask what they would like to drink or whether they take milk and sugar. I know which of them like their tea so weak that the quickest dunks of the tea bag are all that is required, and others who like it to be at builders’ strength. Of course, the gentlemen like to pull my leg on a regular basis, but I love the banter and have been told regularly that I’m not just the tea lady.
Every month as I leave, I think myself so lucky that I have never had to experience some of the things that many members of the group have had to endure. The life of a carer is hard whatever the circumstances, whether you are looking after a parent, partner, child or a close friend, and we should all be grateful for their dedication.
My other thought as I take my very short walk home is that I am so privileged to know this group of people and that perhaps in some small way I may have made their day a little better.’
For more information on our Mental Health Carer Cafes email us at admin@carersupportwiltshire.co.uk, or if you would like to see dates, time and locations click here.
