In this first episode of Kinship Together, Kinship's Chief Executive Lucy Peake explains what kinship care is, why it's so important, and how peer support can have an incredible impact on carer's lives. Having worked with kinship carers for many years, Lucy provides insight into the way support groups work as well as their potential for change. That change applies to individuals and families, but also wider society and even government policy. Finally, this introduction episode also see Lucy talks about the progress made by Kinship over the last decade, including and how she sees kinship care developing in the future. 

In our first interview with a kinship carer, we speak to Gillian, who's been a kinship carer for around nine years. After facing a range of challenges, including the loss of her husband, Gillian gets support and friendship through her local peer support group for kinship carers. As secretary of the group, she plays an important role in making sure its members get the companionship, help and advice they need. 

In the interview, Gillian talks about how it felt when she realised there were other kinship carers out there, and the impact her peer support group has had on both her confidence and life in general. 

In this episode, we speak to Graham who has been a kinship carer for around 14 years. He's a single grandparent and the two children he cares for are now teenagers.  Graham talks about how when he became a kinship carer, he was able to find the information and help he needed through attending a peer support group. He's since gone on to offer the same support to many other kinship carers by running a group himself, which includes in-person meetings and an online Facebook community.

In this episode, we talked to Marisa who along with her mum has been a kinship carer for seven years. Though they work as a close-knit team, it's her mum who has the special guardianship order, which means she has a long-term legal responsibility for the child they care for. Marisa talks about how they work together to raise a child, while at the same time running a kinship peer support group. She describes how the group has given both her and her mum great companionship and support as they provide a safe, loving home environment.

In this episode, we speak to David who's been a kinship carer for around three years. He also helps other kinship carers through Kinship’s volunteer service, Someone Like Me. He shares his experience of talking to other kinship carers and the benefits of knowing that support is available. David  also talks about the challenges of becoming a kinship carer in difficult circumstances, and how he’s been able to adjust and provide a safe, caring home to grow up in. 

In this episode, we chat to Peter and Maxine who've been kinship carers for around eight years and have a special guardianship order, which means they have long-term legal responsibility for the children they care for. They talk about how when they became kinship carers, they quickly found themselves needing to research and gather as much information about the role as possible. Over time, they decided to take everything they learned and use it to help other kinship carers by setting up a kinship peer support group in their local area, which they still run today.

In this episode of Kinship Together, you can listen back to some of the highlights from our previous conversations with kinship carers.  In particular, you can hear how kinship peer support groups  have such a positive impact on the lives of carers, their families. communities and even society more widely.  And then we return to those moments of joy – those special memories – that make all the hard work so worthwhile and rewarding.