Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse Carers

Being a carer from a Black, Asian or ethnically diverse community can bring different challenges that others may not recognise.

Worries about discrimination may mean you prefer to access support and advice via someone from your own community; or you may feel more comfortable discussing difficult or complex issues in your preferred language. If so, here are some organisations that can help.

• Himmat supports parents of children with learning disabilities. Run by carers from the Asian community, it offers language support with documents and phone calls, guidance about carer benefits, and activity groups.
• The Fed supports the Greater Manchester Jewish community. Their Carers’ Project offers emotional support and practical advice about issues such as benefits. They have a dedicated group for male carers.
• Indian Senior Citizens Centre provides day support for members of the Indian community who are aged 50+. They offer exercise, social and educational activities.
• African Caribbean Care Group provides practical and emotional support for carers of all ages. This includes respite, support groups and activities, as well as health and wellbeing advice.
• African and Caribbean Mental Health Services empowers people to identify their own health needs and develop resilience to stress and illness. They run support groups and a range of activities.
• LMCP support carers, older people, and women with mental health needs from the South Asian community. They offer information, advice and assistance with form-filling, home visits and support groups, including a monthly carers meeting.
• North Manchester Black Health Forum works with vulnerable adults from marginalised communities living with long-term health conditions, poverty and economic pressures. They offer wellbeing activities, raise awareness of dementia and provide information about social care, housing and benefits.
• Wai Yin offers a range of employment, education and community services for members of the Chinese, Somali, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian and many European communities.

Other Support Services

• Pakistani Resource Centre supports members of the South Asian community around welfare rights, counselling, mental health, learning disabilities, domestic violence and the criminal justice system.
• Ethnic Health Forum provides BAME communities in Manchester with welfare rights advice, pre-employment support, online skills training and mental health support.
• Women’s Voices supports vulnerable women from diverse backgrounds including asylum seekers and refugees. They offer training and activities to build resilience and encourage independence.
• Yaran Northwest has a multi-cultural team of counsellors, psychotherapists and advocates. They support vulnerable adults and new immigrants across Manchester.
• Europia supports Eastern European nationals in Manchester. Their multi-lingual team provides community and wellbeing projects, advice and legal sessions.
• Refugee Action provides help and advice about the asylum process, getting support while claiming asylum, and homelessness. They also work with families who have come to the UK through the Gateway Resettlement Programme and Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.
• Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) advises, supports, represents and campaigns with people subject to immigration control. They provide immigration advice, asylum and housing support, support for women at risk, and support for families with no recourse to public funds.
• Irish Community Care supports the Irish Gypsy and Traveller communities around welfare and benefits, housing, passports and birth certificate advice, training, employment and social inclusion.
• Cheetham Hill Advice Centre offers advice in 10 different languages or via an interpreter. They cover money, debt and benefits, housing and homelessness, consumer and employment problems, access to adult learning, training and volunteering, and immigration issues (Level 1 advice).
• Talking Bubble is an over-the-phone befriending service where you can speak to a volunteer in Albanian, Arabic, Greek, Kurdish, Romanian, Russian, Turkish and many other languages.
• Ananna – supports women and girls in Greater Manchester with activities, information and signposting for  survivors of domestic abuse or those who have struggled with their mental health.
• Saheli Asian Women’s Project provides advice, information and support services to Asian women and their children fleeing domestic abuse and/or forced marriages.
• Migrant Support works to advance the welfare and rights of migrants in Manchester.
• Rainbow Haven provides community drop-in sessions that offers support and activities for refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants in Manchester and Salford.

Contact us for more information. You can speak to an adviser in Chinese, Gujarati, Urdu or via an interpreter.