Each month we will be talking to members of the Suffolk Family Carers team so you get to know us, and how we can help you. This month we have been talking to Clare Billings-Deed, Support Programme Facilitator for the Information and Education section of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Service.
How long have you been in your role, and what, in a few words, does it involve?
I started this role at Suffolk Family Carers on 14th April 2020 – just after the first COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ came into force.
What attracted you to work for the charity?
I have wanted to work with Suffolk Family Carers for many years. I used our service myself when I cared for my late partner, and I really love both the ethos and values of the organisation, and the fantastic commitment to meeting Family Carers’ needs.
What does a typical work day look like?
My working day is currently very different from what I expected! I make a very short commute from my bedroom to my ‘home office’ which is located in what was hitherto my craft room (I know – lucky me!). We have moved all of our workshops and programmes ‘online’ so most days see me facilitating at least one group workshop or social group via MS Teams. I also spend time planning new workshops or updating our offer in the light of feedback. We meet regularly as a team (via Teams) to see what else we can offer to Family Carers, given available funding and demand.
What makes you passionate about the role of the carer?
As previously said, I was a Family Carer myself and experienced the impact, both positive and negative, that the role can have on all members of a family. My daughter was only 11 when my late partner died and so her early life was incredibly influenced by both my caring role and her own. I know first-hand that being a Family Carer can be incredibly rewarding AND challenging.
I am really passionate about supporting SFC’s work to enable Family Carers to provide the best care and support possible to their loved ones, to protect their own health and wellbeing, to negotiate the sometimes inevitable, sometimes chosen, transitions into sharing care, and perhaps even moving on from their caring role. To do that they need access to quality advice, resources, training and support, and I’m really honoured to be part of that provision.
Do you have any particularly exciting projects or initiatives you’re working on now?
More recently, I’ve been offering 1 to 1 facilitation or coaching based around our programmes or workshop material to Family Carers who might not be able to attend groups for a number of reasons. We’ve been doing some work in partnership with other areas of the organisation’s service – Community Connectors and NSFT partnership – and delivered some workshops specifically for those projects. I’m currently developing a workshop aimed at parents of Young Carers aged under 8 years old, as part of a wider project being undertaken by the Young Carers Service
I have a particular interest in Trauma and how this can impact Family Carers either caring for their loved ones who have experienced trauma or their own experience of trauma – which might even arise out of a caring role. I’m currently working with some of SFC’s managers to consider how the organisation might develop a more ‘trauma Informed’ approach to our work.
Outside of your Suffolk Family Carers world, how do you like to spend your time, and who with?
I live with my wife, ‘newly adult’ daughter and our two unruly dogs! At the moment we’re all adjusting to some big transitions in my daughter’s life – she has a job in bar for the summer and is catching up on missed social opportunities due to pandemic restrictions – so none of us are getting much sleep! As an antidote to that, and in anticipation of ‘empty-nest’ syndrome when she heads off to Uni in September, my wife and I are getting away in our little caravan as much as possible!
How do your family or colleagues describe you?
Passionate, hard–working, kind, compassionate, knowledgeable, warm, articulate (my family would say verbose) and enthusiastic.
My family like to say I’m slightly ‘odd’ (fair comment) and funny – but not on purpose! I think they mean that affectionately!
Do you have any surprise skills which people may not know about you?
It turns out I’m not bad at reversing a caravan onto a pitch!
What do you love most about living in Suffolk, and are there particular places you love to go?
Suffolk is where I come from and where I feel most at home – the landscape, the history, and the people. I love that we have coast and countryside and that Suffolk is really ‘accessible’ for most of the UK and Europe. Having returned in 2019 from 7 years in Cardiff, I am reacquainting myself and introducing my wife to the county – we’re starting with dog-walks and National trust places!
Name three words which sum up the role of a carer:
Patience, Dedication, LOVE!
For more information on the Programmes and Workshops we offer visit our website: www.suffolkfamilycarers.org/ courses-by-sfc/
