Updates to Thursday Support Circle & Introducing Themed Chats! 🌟

We wanted to update you all about some changes we'll be making to our Thursday Support Circle sessions. As you know, this project was funded by The Green House and we've been able to deliver an amazing 42 sessions over the past year. Your feedback on how helpful these sessions have been for you was so lovely to hear.

The project is now sadly coming to a close. However, we've seen how valuable these sessions are and so we’re really keen to find a way to continue them and also introduce some new support groups.

Your feedback
We want to thank you all for taking the time to share your feedback with us on how support groups can become busy at times and this means that it can be tough to get support on certain topics.

We've been listening to the feedback that you've shared here on the discussion boards, in the support groups, through feedback forms, and our annual survey which we share each year to help us improve our services here at The Mix.

This really helped show how valuable the support groups are and where we need to make improvements, so we’re really excited to be able to open up more focused spaces of support.

Themed Chats
Excitingly, we’re planning to introduce themed chat sessions each Thursday, centred around a set topic each week.

We will still run our existing Support Circle for survivors of sexual violence (likely to be monthly) but we will rotate the theme of the support group each week to also cover support for topics such as 'exam support', 'anxiety', 'school', 'relationships', 'bereavement', and more.

We hope this gives you more choice in accessing support and will create an even wider support network, helping more young people find a safe space to reach out.

We would love to get you all involved in shaping this new support group and choosing the themes of our chats. What kinds of topics would you like to see covered? Let us know below!
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Our Thursday Support Circle sessions will be paused during our support group break (27th May - 9th June) to allow the team the chance to plan for their re-launch within our new themed chat structure following the break.
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Comments

Former Member

This is a good idea. Will you have to sign up or will they be open for anyone to join like young carers chat?

independent_

Slinky wrote: »

This is a good idea. Will you have to sign up or will they be open for anyone to join like young carers chat?

My question too. Will it be like support circle for that topic or a support chat type?

Gemma

Great questions @Slinky and @independent_ - I believe our initial thoughts were (aside from survivors Circle) to have the themed chat rooms in a similar format to Support Chat or YCC in that anyone can drop in (no sign up necessary) and the focus of the conversation would be around that week's topic.

But I'm not 100% sure on that. We are a bit short this week with a smaller staff team so we'll be using chat break to really plan getting these new chats up and running. As always, we're all ears to your thoughts and suggestions too.

Former Member

I think having it open would be good. I don’t like signing up to things it feels like a commitment 😂

Former Member

YCC isn't a themed chat, it's just a room for young carers to talk about nothing about caring so ... its just a room of "people" going through something similar apparently.

Former Member

Huh?? Of course it’s a themed chat @Abigail , the theme is young carers and it’s for young carers to talk about whatever they want. I imagine these themed chats will be the same with just different topics. I’m sure Gemma understood what I meant when I compared it to ycc being open and not password.

lunarcat522

@Abigail I've been in the chat room various times and it is intended for young carers but it is there as an outlet for advice and support for whatever people need.

There have been many times where young carers have talked about caring but that's not all there is to being a young carer, it's a very complicated role that impacts all aspects of life therefore I think it's completely valid for people on the chat to talk about whatever is on their mind. It is not earmarked or limited to just talking about caring responsibilities as there's not a clear start and end to defining a young carer - each of their lives look completely different and I think it's important to recognise this and respect this.

I just want to add that everyone is welcome to join the young carer's chat and despite its intention to be a space for young carers there isn't any restrictions apart from the usual standard guidelines from the mix.

I feel that we shouldn't be overly restrictive in what people talk about or what we think they should or are "supposed" to talk about because I think this creates an unnecessary sense of fear and stigma and I wouldn't want anyone to feel put off joining the support chats as they are supposed to foster a kind and supportive culture, no matter what people are going through.

I think it's super important everyone has a space where they feel welcomed and safe and I think this is integral particularly relating to mental health because everyone deserves a space where they can open up to.

I'm not sure whether your comment was a misunderstanding @Abigail but I just wanted to chime in with my thoughts having the experience of being a young carer and a volunteer with the mix.

Of course there are times when we may offer signposting where we feel this is relevant but I don't think it would be productive to "gatekeep" the space for a lack of better wording.

Just as a final note - not everyone will realise or know that they are a young carer so I think it's also important to keep this in mind, as I've said young carers have various roles and responsibilities and they won't all be the same.

I'd be happy to answer any questions etc and I'm sure others would be happy to do the same.

I hope I have worded this okay as I think this is a really good discussion to be having

@TheMix I think it might be helpful to have a reminder on the purpose/nature of the Young Carer's chat since there's been a few people unsure of whether they can join etc, also maybe some educational posts on social media might be good to raise awareness, particularly the diverse nature of being a young carer?

Millie2787

I Think potentially it was the wording - being in a care role isn’t a “theme” of someone’s life, that potentially makes it sound like it’s something that can be dipped in and out of if that makes sense ? Again maybe I’ve read it wrong

I just want to add that everyone is welcome to join the young carer's chat and despite its intention to be a space for young carers there isn't any restrictions apart from the usual standard guidelines from the mix.

I just wanted to raise this @lunarcat522 and maybe the @TheMix can provide clarification if I’ve got it wrong. My understanding was the chat was for individuals who were or think they were in a caring role and not just for anyone in the community- That was the idea of the chat was providing a separate space for them to chat with other individuals who were in similar positions so understandably might get the issues they was facing both directly and indirectly impacted by there care role.

Former Member

Ah in which case Abigail, if that’s what you meant I’m very sorry it came across that way. I know young carers do amazing work and it’s not something they can dip in and out of 🙏🏻💙

Past User

Sorry to jump in,its just this conversation raised something id been thinking about too.
That maybe theme isn't the best word,
I almost said specialist chats but that might imply that there was a specialist mod there (not that all mods aren't awesome but a professional in that field).

I understand the young carer chats are different. But it did bring up what i was thinking.
Because being a young carer isn't a theme but n neither is sexual assault. School maybe could be seen as a theme but itd be inappropriate for things such as bereavement or abuse.
So maybe its be worth thinking of something that would be more suitable for anything that might come up.

Focused groups maybe but you dont have to talk about the main subject so maybe not that either.

My point i suppose is i understand what i minefield thinking of words is. This isn't a dig at all. Im sorry if it comes across that way.
It might be habit, Me and the mental professional i see sometimes spend a long time trying to find words for things. He won't rest until he finds the perfect one. Sometimes it feels like we spend hours dussecting different words.
So I apologise if this is just me nitpicking.

TheMix

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feedback so far everyone. We can see there's been a few questions about our Young Carer's Support Group sessions and we wanted to drop in to clarify a bit more about them

@Millie2787 & @Abigail thank you for sharing more with us. We're hearing the word 'theme' is feeling upsetting which is understandable to hear. In our description above we weren't referring to our young carers chat as a theme, but instead comparing the type of chat format being open rather than requiring a sign up to attend. We hope that clarification has been helpful and we appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us

@SpaceOtter we appreciate your feedback too and that's really helpful to know how you're feeling about the new support group sessions being called 'themed chats'. We're happy to explore alternative names for these new sessions we're building if themed chats doesn't feel quite right. Feel free to share any ideas you have and we'll have a think as a team as well

Young Carer's Chats
We created a thread a while back with more info on the purpose of our Young Carer's Chats which we'll copy below:

YCC is a type of Support Chat just for young carers. It's a space where young carers can get together and support each other over shared (and often isolating) experiences.

So if you're a young carer, feel free to come along! And if you know a young carer, feel free to spread the word and tell them about Young Carer's Chat. The more the merrier!

More info
Firstly, a young carer is a young person who helps to look after a relative or friend with a disability, illness, mental health condition, or drug or alcohol problem.

(This is often confused with being 'care-experienced', which is when you're in or involved with the care system - that's not what this support group is based around.)

Secondly, there will be people in this community who don't realise they're young carers. That might mean people come into YCC that haven't openly shared that they're a carer before, and it's really important to make them feel welcome and included even if they don't seem to 'fit the bill' at first.

Thirdly, if you think you might be a young carer (even if you're not sure), feel free to drop by! YCC is a great space to explore that and ask any questions that you have. You can also use The Mix's tool to find out whether you might be a young carer: https://www.themix.org.uk/young-carers

We hope this extra context is helpful. Any questions or feedback, do let us know

Past User

Im sorry i didn't mean to be annoying. Themes is ok. Sorry

Aoife

Not at all @SpaceOtter, it's really helpful hearing your thoughts. We want our services to be shaped by young people as you know what's going to be helpful and most useful for others. Keep sharing any ideas and thoughts you have

We chatted a little as a team and wondered what you all thought of us calling these new chats 'topic-specific' chats?

Former Member

Topic specific is nice

BensonE

Aife wrote: »

Not at all @SpaceOtter, it's really helpful hearing your thoughts. We want our services to be shaped by young people as you know what's going to be helpful and most useful for others. Keep sharing any ideas and thoughts you have

We chatted a little as a team and wondered what you all thought of us calling these new chats 'topic-specific' chats?

I think topic specific works alot better

#goyouthvoice