You’re invited to join a special online workshop designed just for you. This session will:

🔹 Share key findings from the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) survey

🔹 Give you the opportunity to help shape the action plan in response

Carers registered with the Involvement Network will be eligible for the hourly involvement rate (£13.85) — but all carers are warmly welcome to take part.

🗓️ To express interest:

📧 Email: involvement@swlstg.nhs.uk or nazia.choudhury@swlstg.nhs.uk

📞 Call: 0203 513 5775

🔗 Or click here: https://forms.office.com/e/27arB81ma

(Use the form to register, get the joining link, and organise payments if applicable.)

💻 Need help joining online? Let us know in advance — we can assist with digital access or offer alternative ways to take part.

Your voice matters. We’d love to have you with us 💙

"Join our free 4-week Carers Information and Support Programme (CrISP 1), which we will be starting on Thursday 29 May 2025.

We will be starting our next CrISP 1 workshops on zoom starting on Thursday 29 May 2025.

These 4 workshops provide an opportunity to improve knowledge, skills and understanding for those caring for a person with dementia, in a friendly and confidential environment.

CrISP 1: Understanding dementia after diagnosis:

For people who care for a family member or friend newly diagnosed or in the early stages of dementia. Topics include:

• What is dementia?
• Legal and welfare matters
• How you can support and care for someone with dementia
• Support services in your borough and planning for the future.

 CrISP 1 workshops will be held on-

Thursday 29 May              10.30-12.30

Thursday 5 June               10.30-12.30

Thursday 12 June             10.30-12.30

Thursday 19 June             10.30-12.30

Booking is essential.

Please contact Joanna Newton Joanna.Newton@alzheimers.org.uk

KingstonOffice@alzheimers.org.uk

Tel. 020 7423 5115"

Come along for a relaxed morning of chat, new friends, and engaging talks on a variety of topics – no booking needed!

Starting June 2025, Tea and Toast will now run once a month, on the last Friday of each month (excluding August and December).

🕤 Time: 9:30am – 11:30am

💷 Cost: Just £1

Pop in for a warm drink, a bite to eat, and great company – we’d love to see you there!

📅 Tuesday 3rd June

🕥 10:30am – 12:30pm

📍 Art Therapy Studio, Elizabeth Newton Building, Springfield University Hospital, SE17 0YF

Led by Renata Russo, Art Psychotherapist, and co-facilitated by Zoe Hannam, this workshop offers a gentle introduction to art therapy—no experience needed. The focus is on self-expression and emotional wellbeing, not artistic skill.

🧠 What is Art Therapy?

It’s a powerful way to explore thoughts and feelings when words are hard to find. Through drawing, painting, collage and more, you’ll learn techniques to support relaxation, reflection, and healing.

👣 Look out for yellow signs on the day.

🚗 Parking available via the RingGo app on Springfield Drive (spaces limited), or nearby residential streets—please check signs for restrictions.

📞 Need help finding us? Call Zoe on 07725 048331

💌 Only a couple of spaces left!

Email maura.davies@swlstg.nhs.uk to reserve your place.

📅 Thursday 5 June 2025

🕘 9:00am – 11:30am

📍 Springfield Hospital, 15 Springfield Drive, SW17 0YF

If you’re a carer, family member, or friend of someone who has received care from SWLSTG Mental Health Trust in the last 5 years, we invite you to join our first Listening Event.

This is your chance to share feedback and help shape and improve the services we offer.

💬 What to expect:

• Breakfast & networking

• Workshop-style conversations

• Open discussions with Trust staff, carer centres & lived experience members

• Connect with other carers

This event supports the 2025 Carers Week theme: ‘Caring About Equality’.

🎟️ For tickets and enquiries, contact:

📧 involvement@swlstg.nhs.uk

If you have any special needs or support requirements, please let us know in advance.

We’d love to see you there!

📅 Wednesday 14th May 2025

🕓 4:30pm – 7:00pm

📍 The Malden Leisure Centre, KT3 4TA

A open and supportive event focused on your wellbeing.

✅ Safe space to chat with Mental Health clinicians

✅ Free mental health resources & support

✅ Free contraception and smoking advice

✅ Blood pressure, height & weight checks

Whether you’re looking for advice, support, or just someone to talk to, this is a safe and welcoming space for all.

No need to book – just come along!

Proudly supported by local services. 💙

We’re delighted to share a powerful new short film created by our partners at Young Carers Illustrations and filmed by acclaimed Japanese documentary filmmaker Mari Yamamoto.

Following the success of Ana Graça’s charming picture book Young Carers in Bunnyland, their team held a series of creative workshops with young carers—including participants from Kingston Young Carers.

These workshops invited children to share their ideas for new illustrations and storylines. Now, inspired by these conversations, Ana is beginning work on a second picture book.

This moving short film highlights the importance of identifying young carers at an early age and features Ana using Kamishibai—a traditional Japanese form of storytelling—to engage the children in meaningful discussion.

Kingston Young Carers have played a vital role throughout the project, helping shape the stories, choosing character names, and contributing to the creative process in a truly collaborative way.

Eighteen-year-old Helen Abdullah, a Kingston young carer, shares her own experience in the film. She explains how being identified as a young carer at just five years old changed her life—and how the support she received from Kingston Carers’ Network (KCN) made a real difference. Helen also speaks passionately about the many young carers who go unidentified for years and miss out on the help they urgently need.

This film is not only a celebration of young carers’ creativity, but also a call to action to ensure every young carer is seen, heard, and supported as early as possible.

Our partners at the RNIB want to understand your motivations to volunteer, what stops you from volunteering, and what might encourage you to get involved with a volunteer role in the future.

Got a spare 15 minutes?  Complete their latest Voice of the Customer survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RWX5Y9P.  

Thank you.