This is why:
Since Carina was five, she has been a carer (unpaid) for her mother because of her complex mental health needs and up till her farther passed from Parkinson’s last December she also cared for him. Despite having her hands full she has managed to get herself through education and has a degree in Creative Art Therapies.
Today at 30, Carina is passionate about carers’ rights and continuously advocates for better and more help from health and social care not only for herself and her family but for every carer who looks after a loved one.
When she at 18 went from being a Young Carer to an Adult Carer she didn’t have a lot in common with elderly spouses at the monthly support group so she set up Young Adult Carers for 18-24-year olds which ran successfully but recently closed down because of lack of funding.
Carina always tries to find solutions to problems. When she 4 years ago realised that not many people know about what it is like to care she set up the organisation Invisible Army from which platform she writes and exhibits stories of carers from around Bristol. These exhibitions have opened the eyes of ordinary people, local and national politicians and many potential future carers.
To emphasise the number of carers in Bristol in 2022 she made 40,138 origami flowers and exhibited them in a huge art installation in the centre of Bristol.
She is kind and determined and deserves to be celebrated.
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