Parent/Carer Wellbeing Programme

Bury, Greater Manchester | 2023 - 2024

Across 2023 and 2024, I developed and delivered a two year creative wellbeing programme for parent carers of disabled children in Bury. Funded by Contact, the national charity for families with disabled children, and Bury Council's Live Well Fund, the programme was developed in response to the isolation, pressures and lack of opportunities for respite experienced by many parent carers. 

The programme provided a regular space for parents and carers to come together, connect with others and take time for themselves through creative activity. I delivered visual arts sessions and facilitated dialogic support groups, while also bringing in other professional practitioners to deliver a wider range of wellbeing and creative workshops. 

The programme was designed not simply as a series of activities, but as an opportunity to build community and peer connection. Through creativity, conversation and shared experiences, participants were able to develop relationships with others who understood the realities of caring for a disabled child, helping to reduce social isolation and create a sense of belonging. 

The project strengthened my experience in developing and delivering longer-term community programmes, facilitating sensitive conversations, commissioning other practitioners and responding to the changing needs of a community over time. Most importantly, it demonstrated the potential of creative practice to provide space for connection, self-expression and respite within communities where these opportunities can be difficult to access.