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		Carers Rights Day Norwich and District Carers Forum will be hosting a Carers Rights Day on Friday 2nd December 2011. The Event will be held between 1:30pm and 3:30pm in the Stanley Cooper Hall Charing Cross Centre 17-19 St John Maddermarket NR2 1DN A number of agencies including, MIND Norwich, NORCASS, Jobcentre Plus, Norwich City Council Housing Officers, Age UK, Voluntary Norfolk, Aspergers East Anglia, TADS, and Disability Rights Norfolk will be in attendance. The focus of the event is MONEY MATTERS Light refreshments will be available For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us on: Tel: 01603219924 Email: admin@carersforum.org.uk
	Small Grants for Carers Support Groups 1st April 2011 - 31st March 2012 Applications for a small grant are now available to existing Carers Support Groups, and for newly forming Carers Support Groups. The small grants are administered by: Norwich & District Carers Forum 2^nd Floor, Charing Cross Centre 17-19 St. John Maddermarket Norwich NR2 1DN Telephone: 01603 219924 On behalf of Norfolk County Council, Adult Social Services. The small grants are funded by the Norfolk Carers Grant. The small grant applications are being adjudicated this year by a partnership made up of Norwich & District Carers Forum, West Norfolk Carers and The Norfolk Carers Helpline. All enquiries should be addressed to The Small Grants Officer at the above address, or E-mail: admin@carersforum.org.uk Iain Bradshaw: Small Grants Officer


	Link Project - Support for Carers Since the summer of 2010, there has been a new service available to Carers throughout Norfolk following a Carers Assessment. It enables Carers to have regular contact with a Carers support Worker who will be able to provide free on-going information, advice, guidance and emotional support, and to act as a voice for the Carer with other organisations and statutory bodies. Carers who provide substantial care can request an assessment of their needs, independent of the needs of the cared for person. During this review the Carer can ask to be referred to the Link Project for support. Carers Assessments can be requested by ringing Norfolk County Council on 0344 800 8014 OR calling the Norwich & District Carers Forum and we can liaise with the Council on your behalf.

	Carers Week 2011 Carers Week 2011 is taking place on Monday 13th June to Sunday 19th June. The theme this year is: The True Face of Carers. The Norwich and District Carers Forum will be taking part in Carers Week and details of our activities during the week are as follows: Tuesday 14th June Free coffee morning hosted by Asperger East Anglia and the Norwich & District Carers Forum. For more details, please have a look at this poster: Carers Event for National Carers Week Carers Tea Party - Harleston The Swan Hotel 2pm-4pm Wednesday 15th June Information stand at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital and launch of the new NNUH Carers Cafe. Thursday 16th June Launch of a new Carers Support Group Diss Health Centre, Mount Street, Diss, Norfolk 2pm-4pm Information stand at ‘The Changing World of Autism’ conference The John Innes Centre 9:30am-4pm Young Carers Project Team at City College, Norwich Drop In 12noon-2pm Friday 17th June Information stand at Health and Community Centre, Hellesdon 10am-12noon

		Norwich Pain Relief Clinic - A Big Thank You! Martin Smith, BSc Hons, Director (Norwich Pain Relief Clinic) "The Norwich Pain Relief Clinic is a community project established to provide affordable acupuncture for pain relief. Through providing this service, the clinic aims to enrich the local community and reach out to it's more vulnerable members suffering from chronic pain, particularly the elderly and those who normally cannot afford this type of healthcare. Since opening in August 2010, hundreds of local community members have been treated at the clinic. During this time, the clinic's director, Martin Smith, witnessed that for every patient suffering from chronic pain, there are often several people needed to care for them, and additionally, for some patients in need, most often elderly, there was no one to care for them. With the extra stresses of carers in mind, and concern for seniors without support, the idea was raised at the clinic to hold two fundraising days for two local charities supporting carers and the elderly; Norwich and District Carers Forum, and Age UK Norfolk. The special fundraising days took place on the 30th March and 7th April 2011. With the success of these events, the Norwich Pain Relief Clinic was proudly able to donate funds to Norwich and District Carers Forum on April 21st 2011 and looks forward to being able to do so again in the future." Contact Details: Norwich Pain Relief Clinic 8 Maude Gray Court St Benedicts Street Norwich NR2 4PA Tel: 01603 616871 Web. www.norwichpainrelief.com Sandra Farnsworth, Young Carers Project Manager (Norwich & District Carers Forum) “We are planning to use the money that the Norwich Pain Relief Clinic kindly raised for us to go towards taking a group of our Young Carers to Hilltop Outdoor Centre for a well deserved break from their caring role thereby enabling these children who find themselves trapped in an adult world due to their caring role the chance to be children and have fun.”


	From left to right: Lily Bayliss (Acupuncture Practitioner in the Clinic), Martin Smith (Director, Norwich Pain Relief Clinic), Sarah Millar (Norwich & District Carers Forum), Rebecca Geanty (Practitioner Assistant in the Clinic).


	ARE YOU A CARER? The Norwich and district carers forum can offer confidential help and advice. Contact Norwich 01603-219924

	Looking Back at Our Last Annual General Meeting The 16^th Annual General Meeting of the Norwich & District Carers Forum was held on Monday 25^th October 2010 at 10a.m. at St. Luke’s Church Centre, Aylsham Road, Norwich NR3 2HF. The Worshipful The Sheriff of Norwich, Mr. Derek James joined us for part of the morning. Our guest speaker was Paul Corder. Paul spoke about his experiences on becoming a Carer. the speech was very moving and insightful, here are just a few quotes from his speech: ‘What next? Who do you go to? I scanned the phone book and found the Norwich & District Carers Forum..’ ‘...without the Carers Forum I would have been completely lost. So may I turn to the Trustees of the Carers Forum and its Chief Executive to ensure that the services provided to me via the Norwich & District Carers Forum continue to be provided to Carers throughout the county of Norfolk’. ‘...we also had enough money to live on, we had however run up a lot of debt. At about this time I also joined the Norwich Carers Group, this group is run under the Norwich & District Carers Forum and has had a positive effect on my caring role with trips out as well as advice from a wide range of services available to Carers’. ‘The girls however were looked after by the Norwich & District Carers Forum Young Carers Project. They had a meeting once a month, they were picked up from home, given some food, they had a chance to play, but also to talk with the Project Leaders. The Leaders went into their school so the school knew of their home status and even allowed them to have access to a phone if they needed it. The school even made arrangements for accessibility on parents evenings etc, the Young Carers Project also took them out on trips to the likes of Alton Towers and the Natural History Museum in London, Alice in particular loves museums’. ‘We have been away for short periods mostly paid for by someone else, including one with The Princess Royal Trust for Carers via the Norwich & District Carers Forum’.