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
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Carers UK responds to Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) announcement that it will aim to tackle all Carer's Allowance…
Carer Poverty Coalition responds to Government's welfare reform Green Paper
It's extremely worrying that some measures within the Green Paper on Welfare Reform changing disability and health benefits will actively…
Carers UK celebrates Investing in Volunteers award
Carers UK is delighted to have achieved the UK-wide quality mark for organisations involving volunteers during the charity’s 60th anniversary…
New rise in Carer Support Payment in Scotland earnings limit will increase financial security for carers on a low income
Carers Scotland press release on the increase in earnings threshold for Carer Support Payment in 2025.
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