Being Heard is our self-advocacy guide for carers
Self-advocacy is about speaking up for yourself. It’s about getting your voice heard and effectively communicating your own interests. Our guide has been designed to help you communicate your needs with professionals, understand your rights and look after your wellbeing.
Caring can be rewarding but also very isolating. You may not know what help to ask for, how to ask, or indeed who to ask.
Being Heard can help you get your voice heard when you care for someone. Self advocacy is also about being able to have your own needs listened to, as well as speaking up for the person you care for.
Updated in November 2022, the guides are packed with new information on carers’ rights, as well as how to speak up and look after your wellbeing. For useful accompanying resources, such as a complaints letter template, see the links below.
Main guide
Click the relevant link below to download the Being Heard guide:
You can order printed copies from our online shop.
Other useful resources
The guide also features extra resources to download:
- Complaints letter template
- Mindfulness
- Reflecting on events
- Watch our animated film about self-advocacy
Watch the following video about self-advocacy:
Latest updates

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The Carer’s Leave Bill, which could see more than two million working carers get crucial access to one week of…

Unpaid carers ‘picking up the pieces of a crumbling health system’, warns cross-party MLA group
Public statement from the Assembly All Party Group on Carers in Northern Ireland.

Date announced for Scotland Carers Summit 2023
At the Carers Summit, hear about Scotland's new Carers Strategy, learn about enabling greater independent living through technology, talk about…

Landmark Bill gains further support ahead of Report stage in Commons
MPs from many different parties are backing a Private Member’s Bill on Carer’s Leave, which would see millions of unpaid…
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