North East: "Carers Heritage & Culture Group"

Members of the Carers Heritage & Culture Group discuss industrial heritage in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle. This project was developed through consultation with the Newcastle Carer’s Centre.

The project centred around providing carers an opportunity to explore different types of heritage and challenge their ideas about what heritage is, and at the same time providing respite care for them. 

The NCC is funded by Newcastle City Council’s ‘Healthy City Initiative’ and provides services and a support network for carers from across the city.  The majority of these carers are older people who are looking after a close relative or friend who are not able to look after themselves due to a medical condition (such as Alzheimer’s or dementia).  As a result many carers become isolated from their community and often suffer from low or no income, leading to loneliness and depression.

Members of the Carers Heritage & Culture Group at a reminiscence session. Over 60 carers participated in six trips to a number of heritage sites between May and October 2004, ranging from ‘traditional’ to ‘future’ heritage, including Vindolanda Roman Fort, Cragside Estate, Chinatown, and a Tyne River Cruise.

Some members of the group also took part in reminiscence, creative writing and photography workshops linked to the themes of the trips.  An exhibition of the groups’ work created in these workshops was displayed at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle from March – April 2005.