The All Wales Forum has been working to bring sibling carers together to form a national voice across Wales.
With the support from Welsh Government, we launched our sibling carer initiative ‘Sibs Matter Cymru’ back in July 2018 with an event in Cardiff Bay. This event was sponsored by Lynne Neagle (AM) and opened by Huw Irranca-Davies (AM). The launch became a milestone for the recognition of the invaluable contribution young and adult siblings across Wales make on a daily basis. The launch captured the lived experiences of sibling carers of various ages, backgrounds and geographical locations through an exhibition of photographs and personal stories.
Sibling carers play a unique role in the lives of their brothers and sisters. They offer support in countless ways; from daily tasks to psychical assistance to emotional well-being and they must manage this alongside their own development and growth as individuals. Although their contributions are vast, sibling carers are a group who have often been overlooked and undervalued.
At the Forum, we are working to validate sibling carers and provide them with a platform to develop a network that speaks both for them and with them. We look forward to continuing the sibling carer initiative and ensure this group feels more connected and less isolated by providing them with their own platform to tell us what matters to them most at a local, regional and national level.
We made a short film from the launch of ‘Sibs Matter Wales’ which you will find the link to below:
