Black History Month for Carers
Posted: 1.9.22
As Black History Month begins, we wanted to put a spotlight on our Black Carers and share their experiences. Being a black Carer can pose different issues from what white Carers experience, that have often been overlooked or not taken seriously. At Trafford Carers Centre, we are trying to reach out to the black community, to offer a helping hand, and to point them towards the support they need. In order to gain a better insight, I met with one of our black Carers, Sheri, to speak about Black History Month, her history, achievements and experience with Trafford Carers Centre.
Sheri wants Black History Month to be celebrated every day as she feels we, as a nation, still have a long way to go before racism is no longer an issue. “Black History Month is a good thing, one month a year is better than nothing, but I wish it could be every day. I wish we were all made to feel equal in society, I’m not sure when this will happen but I certainly play my part to push it along. We need to have these conversations and there needs to be change and it is much bigger than who feels comfortable or not.”
Sheri is involved in a church feeding project around Manchester, providing hot food to the homeless, the elderly, as well as anyone who just needs a hot meal.
She is also a Volunteer Prison Chaplain at a Women’s Prison. She does a lot for the community because growing up, she lived on a challenging housing estate, with not much opportunities. She says she could have easily gone down the same road as some of the women in the prison. She explains, “if it wasn’t for God's grace and perhaps that He knew what He needed me to do later in life, it could have been me.”
A new project that she is involved in is being part of the Independent Police Scrutiny Panel in order to tackle the disproportionate amount of stop and searches against people of colour.
Sheri has had support from Trafford Carers for 5 years. She acknowledged, “it was long and hard and there were some times when my situation was bleak,”
It took a whole village to raise her sons she says, but she cannot even imagine if she had tried on my own. Sher says "When people are united and work together, there is a better outcome as opposed to when you try to fix it yourself. Don’t be afraid, no one is going to point a finger, others have been through it. When you talk to people, you will be surprised as to how similar people’s experiences are to yours and the offers of help and support.”
She recognises that we, at Trafford Carers Centre, are trying to move on with the times, and coming out of its shell.
“The organisation has been here for a long time but you can see it is trying to modernise and advance and I think it’s a good thing. I really appreciate what Trafford Carers are trying to do.”
Black History Month is so important as it aims to highlight what has previously been forgotten, ignored or overlooked which is the efforts black people have made in Britain and around the world that are true pioneers. The month of October acts as a short reminder of Black history, it isn’t just about what happened in the 1600s but the struggles and achievements of Black people today. Trafford Carers wants to support everyone. We understand that everyone has unique circumstances and different needs. Sheri has been so helpful in letting us know what we can do better to help different communities, but of course, she is just one person. Here at Trafford Carers Centre, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our services, include everyone, so we can celebrate successes and look for ways to allow all carers to thrive.
Tagged with: #BlackHistoryMonth #BAME