Being Heard is our self-advocacy guide for carers
Self-advocacy is about speaking up for yourself. It’s about getting your voice heard and effectively communicating your own interests. Our guide has been designed to help you communicate your needs with professionals, understand your rights and look after your wellbeing.
Caring can be rewarding but also very isolating. You may not know what help to ask for, how to ask, or indeed who to ask.
Being Heard: a self-advocacy guide for carers can help you get your voice heard when you care for someone. Self-advocacy is also about being able to have your own needs listened to, as well as speaking up for the person you care for.
The guide stems from work carried out by Carers Scotland and the Scottish Government from 2011, and each guide reflects the situation for carers in each UK nation.
Updated in 2020, the guides are packed with new information on carers’ rights, as well as how to speak up and look after your wellbeing. For useful accompanying resources, such as a complaints letter template, see the links below.
Main guide
Click the relevant link below to download the Being Heard guide:
Being Heard - a self-advocacy guide for carers - England
Being Heard - a self-advocacy guide for carers - Wales - English
Being Heard - a self-advocacy guide for carers - Wales - Welsh
Being Heard - a self-advocacy guide for carers - Scotland
Being Heard - a self-advocacy guide for carers - Northern Ireland
You can order printed copies from our online shop.
Other useful resources
The guide also features extra resources to download:
- Complaints letter template
- Mindfulness
- Reflecting on events
- Watch our animated film about self-advocacy
Watch the following video about self-advocacy:
Latest updates
Spring statement: Shocking carers' benefits cuts are a first in decades
“Today’s spring statement confirms that the Government’s welfare reform plans will include the first substantial cuts to Carer’s Allowance in…
Thousands of carers receiving new debt letters as review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments continues
The number of carers facing overpayment debts continues to rise.
Carers UK responds to the Government’s publication of the welfare reform green paper proposing changes to disability and health benefits
“We are very concerned that the plans the Government has published today could hit unpaid carers, disabled people and their…
Carers Scotland calls for urgent action to tackle Scotland’s growing mental health crisis for unpaid carers
Press release for ‘State of Caring in Scotland 2024: Health and social care support for unpaid carers’.
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