Last year hundreds of amazing people shared stories with us and created a picture of what needing care and support services and of what being a carer is really like.  We would love to have your help again to build on what we found out last year, and add detail and breadth to our understanding of people’s experiences. 

We want to hear your stories so that we can understand more about what it is like, day-to-day, to need care and support services or to be a carer looking after a loved one, friend or neighbour.  Funded by Welsh Government, Measuring the Mountain (MtM) is a Wales-wide project that is gathering stories from people to understand more about the early implementation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act.

Last year we collected just under 500 stories and they revealed some of highs, and lows, of care and support, shining a light on key factors that play a role in experiences being positive or negative.  Our findings from last year have been published on our website and shared directly with Welsh Government and, as part of our work this year, we will be sharing our findings with social care providers, third sector organisations and community groups across Wales, as well as with health and social care students. 

With so many people in Wales caring for loved ones, or needing care and support services, we want to make sure that we have heard from as many people as we can.  Each story tells us something important, everyone’s perspective is unique and, collectively, the stories you share with us can make a difference to the way services are delivered in the future.

To get involved in MtM you can:

• Share your story
• Tell others about the project
• If you’re part of a group and would like someone from the project to come and hear stories from a few of you, please get in touch with Katie

Sharing a story takes about 10 minutes and can be done by clicking the button on www.mtm.wales that says ‘Share My Story’.  We would like the story to be about an experience from the last 12 months and we are interested in all kinds of stories.  We recognise that being a carer, or needing care and support services can relate to many different aspects of a person’s life, so feel free to tell us about community activities, health matters, or housing, for example.

Your stories are vital to our work, and vital to us hearing from the diverse individuals and communities that access care and support services, and those that provide essential caring to their loved ones.  Thank you so much for your time and support.

To contact Katie email Katie.cooke@southwales.ac.uk; phone her on 07964 407 739; visit www.mtm.wales; or Tweet @mtmwales.