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NEW Carers Expert- By Experience sister site This site will be where you will find carers stories. It is new at the moment and will be added to shortly

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For Information of Family and Friends - Carers Support Group for Mental Health Carers in Plymouth  

Contact Pam Pinder Carers Support Worker Tel: 07887711834 Or email on the link below

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Support and Information Site For Families Friends or Relatives who provide help and support to a family member or friend with a mental health need living in the community. Carers outside of Plymouth are also welcome to contact me. I would also welcome any new links and carers experiences that could be added to this site. 

NEW  Join Carers Forum UK anyone can join this group no matter where you live. Putting you into contact with like minded people, all run by email for further information go to Carers Form uk

Working together: Carer participation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland The paper aims to identify what is happening in the social care sector with the involvement of carers and the impact participation has had on service improvement. Based on the premise that carers are experts in their own lives, this SCIE position paper includes substantial links to further information and good practice examples. Position paper 05: Working together: Carer participation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in pdf format At:                                   http://www.scie. org.uk/publicati ons/positionpape rs/pp05.pdf

National Service Framework for Long-term Conditions This NSF has now been published. It sets out 11 quality requirements to change the provision of health and social care to enable people to live as independently as possible and to improve quality of life. These include support for family and carers.See www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/10/53/69/04105369.pdf

New rights for carers: From April 2007 carers will have a right to request flexible working arrangements from their employer. To find out more go to www.carersuk.org

Carers Equal Opportunity Act came into force on 1st April 2005: Under the Act, , carers will have to be told about their rights, will have more opportunities for work, education and life-long learning and there will be greater collaboration between statutory services to help them in their caring roles. News Release from Dave Clark Carers Uk: To find out more go to:  carers uk home page  Guide to carers assessment   Policy and Practice

175,000-strong hidden army of school-age carers Report highlights toll on youngsters' education and job prospects Rebecca Smithers, education editor Wednesday April 13, 2005 The Guardian To find out more about these young carers go to The Guardian at: http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,1074,1458088,00.html

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SOCIETY'S IGNORANCE MAKES PAIN WORSE

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12:00 - 10 November 2004

After reading Kevin Parish's comments ('30,000 in city have mental health problems', November 3) I thoroughly agree, and feel compelled to add my comments on the subject of violent crime and mental illness.

The vast majority of people with a mental health problem, including those with the more serious forms such as manic depression (bipolar) and schizophrenia are placid, gentle and intelligent people. What people do not realise is that they are also aware of the stigma attached to them by the ignorance of society. They also have feelings just like anyone else: they are human beings just like anyone else.

When crimes of violence hit newspaper headlines and it involves somebody with a mental health problem, there is a public outcry, yet there are crimes of violence happening weekly, if not daily, in this city by people who are not deemed to be mentally ill: alcohol-induced violence, child abuse (physical and sexual), rape and physical abuse to adults. If this hits the headlines at all, it is a five-minute wonder and it is forgotten.

I have read that only five per cent of people with a mental health problem may become violent, not necessarily because of the mental health problem, but in some cases because of their character: in other words, they were like this before they became unwell. If you measure five per cent of violent crimes by people who have a mental health problem againts the 95 per cent remaining who are deemed to be mentally well, it does not take much to work out what percentage of the population are more dangerous.

People with mental health problems suffer enough pain caused by the symptoms they experience without the added suffering caused through lack of understanding and compassion from those who do not understand the illness.

We all suffer the effects of mental health problems to some degree: stress is one of the most common we can all relate to. Try to imagine what it would be like to suffer the effects of stress day in, day out, year in, year out - then multiply it by 100. But you still have your family around you: many people with mental health problems do not have family or even friends to support them.

PAMELA PINDER
Plymouth