Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, continues working with Wendy Turner, a local resident spearheading support groups for kinship carers in Hailsham and Heathfield, and was pleased to join one of their local sessions recently as well as to attend a Parliamentary event in to mark Kinship Care Week 2024.
A kinship carer is a family member or a close family friend who steps in to care for a child when their birth parents are unable to do so. Every year, thousands of relatives and friends step in as kinship carers to raise children who cannot live at home and would otherwise be referred to the care system. It is estimated that there over 141,000 children raised in kinship care in England and Wales, with 160 in Sussex Weald.
Unlike adopters or foster carers, many kinship carers do not receive financial support or benefits such as paid employment leave to help the child settle in. Nusrat continues working with Wendy, who is currently raising her grandchildren, and other kinship carers in Sussex Weald on what more can be done to support them.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Becoming a kinship carer is a life-changing situation and can be a very isolating experience, especially as many children in kinship care will have experienced trauma and are in need of a lot of support. However, families are stronger when kept together and most children benefit from living with someone they already know and trust. I am immensely grateful for everything that Wendy and other kinship carers across Sussex Weald do to enable children to continue living safely within their family. I have regular catch ups with our kinship carers to discuss the support available locally and nationwide and what more can be done. It was a pleasure to welcome Wendy and our Sussex Weald Carers to Westminster to mark and support Kinship Care Week 2024, which is an important time to recognise the incredible role that kinship carers play in children’s lives and society.”
Wendy got a mention during a Parliamentary debate on Carer’s Allowance on Wednesday 16th October 2024. The full transcript can be viewed here.
