Wednesday 11th June, 7pm to 8.30pm

Register here.

Do you want to know about what support is available for unpaid carers in Manchester and what is being done to improve equality for carers?

Join us for three discussions focused on practical advice, carers’ experiences and policy solutions. Unpaid carers from our Lived Experience Panel will contribute to the discussions, and there will be time for audience questions.

  1. Caring about equality

There are at least 38,000 carers in Manchester. Unpaid carers face many inequalities, including a greater risk of poverty, social isolation, poor mental and physical health.

Manchester is one of the most diverse cities in UK:

  • Over half of Manchester’s residents are from ethnic minority groups
  • Nearly 1 in 4 residents have a disability or a long-term health condition
  • The city is home to one of the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ communities

Carers come from all different communities, with different interests and needs – how can services support carers and work towards equality for carers?

In this discussion, you’ll hear from people involved in planning and delivering the services:

  • Abid Mumtaz from Manchester City Council (Head of Commissioning for Older People, Prevention and VCFSE)
  • Ben Whalley from mental health and carers charity Gaddum (Chief Executive Officer).

  1. Benefits and funding support

In this section, a carer will share their experiences of accessing benefits and funding support. Michael Dietrich (Welfare Advice Team Leader at Carers Manchester Contact Point) will then talk about what support is available for carers.

  1. Mental health and wellbeing of carers

In the final section, you’ll hear from a carer about their experiences with mental health and wellbeing. Then Neil Grace (Lead for Service User and Carer Engagement at Greater Manchester Mental Health) will talk about what support and self-care techniques are available to carers.

Questions to speakers

If you have any questions to the speakers, you can email those in advance to LivedExperience@carersmanchester.org.uk, or submit those via a Q&A section of the chat during the event.

Information about attending the webinar

The event is organized as a Zoom Webinar. Here is brief information about it and where to find more help to attend a webinar:

  • In a webinar only panelists and chair are to speak
  • Participants can add comments to chat and questions to Q&A
  • We will record the event and share it later
  • If you need any help with using Zoom, see this guide
  • If you need support to get online or to improve digital skills and confidence, contact Manchester City Council’s service for support: Let’s Get Digital.

Carers Week 2025

This event is part of Carers Week 2025: Caring about Equality. Carers Week happens every June to raise awareness of caring, the challenges unpaid carers face and the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.