Award-winning journalist and writer Angela Rippon is to chair I CARE, a one-day conference taking place at the John Innes Centre in Norwich on 11 June.

The conference is being held during National Carers Week and is being organised by Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. The event is aimed at people who care for those with a wide range of mental ill health problems and will bring together speakers and practitioners from across the public and voluntary sectors. It will also give carers the opportunity to share their own experiences and discuss the new local and national Carers strategies.

Angela was chosen to host the day because of her experience of supporting her own mother, who was diagnosed with dementia, and her subsequent campaigning for dementia charities such as Alzheimer’s.

“My mother’s rapid decline into the parallel universe she inhabits called “dementia” demanded an equally rapid and steep learning curve on my part. Not only to understand what was happening, but how to ensure that she had the best treatment and lifestyle possible. One thing soon became blindingly obvious. As an amateur I was floundering in unknown territory. Family carers need all the help they can get from the professionals. Without it, dementia can erode the lives of everyone it touches – carers and loved ones alike,” she says.

I CARE offers a mix of presentations and workshops for delegates and will also include a “holistic hub” aimed at giving carers access to a wide range of complementary therapies to help them through the stress and strains of being a carer.

Another well know figure on the platform will be writer and campaigner Georgina Wakefield who runs “Spotlight On Schizophrenia”. Georgina has written a number of books and has been part of a BBC documentary on living with mental illness called Loving Christian, which follows her family’s experiences of her son’s Schizophrenia.

Norfolk and Waveney Mental Heath see the support of carers as pivotal in enhancing the service that it provides, as chair of the Trust Maggie Wheeler explains:

“At any given time our staff are working with around 14,000 people with mental health problems. Those service users have parents, partners, brothers, sisters, children and friends who are also affected by their illness. It is vital that we support these carers – and enable them not only to understand and help their family members, but also be able to carry on being a loving husband, supportive friend and not be consumed by their caring role.

The conference is an opportunity for us to hear what matters to carers, and learn what we need to do differently.”

I CARE is free to attend for carers living in Norfolk and Waveney, with a small charge for those working professionally in the sector, and the event will run from 9.30am – 4.00pm.

For more information visit the conference website www.icareconference.info or contact Debbie Harris on 0953 889401, email [email protected]