Leeds Celebrates Kinship Care Week

Leeds’ kinship carers and the huge contributions they make to the lives of local children and young people, were celebrated on the 6th October at an event for national Kinship Care Week.

Kinship carers are family members or friends who step up to raise a child or children whose parents are not able to care for them. They can be grandparents, aunts or uncles, siblings, other relatives or family friends. Kinship Care Week (2 - 8 October) is a national awareness week that aims to celebrate the vital role kinship carers play in children’s lives and in our society.

The afternoon tea event, held at Craft House Restaurant, was organised by leading kinship care charity, Kinship through the Kinship Connected programme. 16 kinship carers attended the event and were treated to a delicious selection of cakes, scones, sandwiches, and tea. The event provided the opportunity for the carers to meet new people and bond over shared experiences.

Kinship Connected helps local authorities provide tailored emotional and practical support and advice to special guardians and kinship carers in the Leeds area. As well as one-to-one family support from experienced Project Workers, the programme develops and facilitates vital peer support groups in the community.

Jenny, 63, from Leeds, is a kinship carer who attended the afternoon tea and is one of the carers to receive support and advice from Kinship. She said: “Kinship Care Week is an opportunity for the nation’s hundreds of thousands of kinship carers to come together and celebrate the vital role we are all playing in the lives of children who need us.

“So when the Kinship team invited me to an afternoon tea to celebrate and recognise the work we do as kinship carers, I was so pleased.

I met old friends and new. I sat with someone who was new to kinship care and I was able to share with her what had been useful, or not, for me over the years. This sharing of experiences is so valuable and being able to meet for a coffee on a regular basis helps us not to feel isolated, Then, to be recognised for the job we do, is so important.

There are so many challenges you face when you take a child into your home, and many kinship families struggle to find the support they need. But despite all that, none of us hesitated for one second to step up and provide care and a loving home for a child we loved.

“It means so much to us to celebrate Kinship Care Week together and see kinship families get some of the recognition they deserve”.

There are 2,718 children being raised in kinship care in the Leeds area (including Elmet and Rothwell, Leeds North West, Leeds Central, Leeds West, Leeds East, Morley and Outwood, Leeds North East, and Pudsey).