About Us

Led by Carers, For Carers

Who are We Care?

We’re a unique, award winning grassroots campaign of unpaid carers and those who support us.

We’re a team of volunteers. We fit our campaigning around our caring roles, our families, and our jobs. It’s real life, it’s messy and there’s never enough time. We’re driven to succeed because carers, all carers deserve so much better.

We’re building a community of networked carer campaigners across the UK. Our community campaigns on issues that are important to us.

We’re all about amplifying carer voices to decision makers, organisations, society, and each other.

The Team Members behind We Care Campaign

Katy Styles

Katy is a full-time unpaid carer to her husband Mark and increasingly to her mother. She lives in Canterbury, Kent. Once a teacher, Katy has transferred her professional skills to campaigning.

A nationally recognised campaigner, Katy and We Care Campaign have been awarded the UK Parliament Digital Campaigner of the Year in 2019 and Digital Campaign at the National Campaign Awards held by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation in 2020. Katy tweets about her caring role and life here.

Alice Fuller

Is a campaigner specialising in building grassroots activism. She met Katy when working for a disability charity, and was struck by Katy's drive, determination and natural campaigning instincts. Alice believes that campaigns are their strongest when led by people with lived experience, and loves working alongside the We Care team to get unpaid carers the proper recognition they deserve. She writes a blog Analytical Activism and tweets about participation and people power here.

Rachael Martin-Smith

Is a campaigner and advocate specialising in real world and digital campaign mobilisation. Having developed a passion, and proficiency for community organising Rachael empowers those directly impacted by social injustice to ensure authenticity of experience is at the heart of political decision making.

Rachael says "I am passionate about carers issues because I see the self sacrifice poured into caring for a person you love, and how this important contribution to our society is overlooked, and inadequately supported by our decision makers. For those reasons and more I am campaigning to get a better deal for the UK's 7 million unpaid carers." You can follow Rachael campaigning on Twitter here.

Elizabeth Mistry

Combines journalism and caring having previously worked as a travel writer and foreign correspondent until she found covering human rights abuses in Latin America wasn't compatible with looking after UK-based parents with increasingly complex needs.

When her son was born, she joined the growing ranks of sandwich carers juggling caring for children and parents and became aware how little support is available for people who find themselves in the position of having to choose between family and career.

She is keen to ensure more unpaid carers - especially new and expectant mothers - are identified as early as possible in their caring journey and determined to support a carer's right to choose whether they continue working rather than feel they have no choice but to put their earning life on hold or give up altogether.

A strong advocate for better training for employers of those with caring responsibilities - as well as for carers who lack the resources to negotiate for themselves, Elizabeth - who worked in the arts and education prior to entering journalism, would like to see caring and associated issues included in a meaningful way on the National Curriculum giving young carers the recognition and support they deserve.

Elizabeth supports a number of initiatives designed to give unpaid carers a much needed respite break and is currently working on a project which would see Local Authorities, the arts and hospitality sectors recognise the unique position of unpaid carers by extending the same concessions currently offered to other low or unwaged people, whether or not they are accompanying a cared-for person.

You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter here.

Helen Deakin

volunteers her time to We Care as a communications specialist. She cares deeply about the issue and is keen to highlight the issues sandwich carers face. These are carers who look after elderly relatives and young children at the same time. Helen tweets here about communications for charities, social enterprises and companies.

Katy Styles
Katy is a full-time unpaid carer to her husband Mark and increasingly to her mother. She lives in Canterbury, Kent. Once a teacher, Katy has transferred her professional skills to campaigning.

A nationally recognised campaigner, Katy and We Care Campaign have been awarded the UK Parliament Digital Campaigner of the Year in 2019 and Digital Campaign at the National Campaign Awards held by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation in 2020. Katy tweets about her caring role and life here.
Alice Fuller
Is a campaigner specialising in building grassroots activism. She met Katy when working for a disability charity, and was struck by Katy's drive, determination and natural campaigning instincts. Alice believes that campaigns are their strongest when led by people with lived experience, and loves working alongside the We Care team to get unpaid carers the proper recognition they deserve. She writes a blog Analytical Activism and tweets about participation and people power here.
Rachael Martin-Smith
Is a campaigner and advocate specialising in real world and digital campaign mobilisation. Having developed a passion, and proficiency for community organising Rachael empowers those directly impacted by social injustice to ensure authenticity of experience is at the heart of political decision making.

Rachael says "I am passionate about carers issues because I see the self sacrifice poured into caring for a person you love, and how this important contribution to our society is overlooked, and inadequately supported by our decision makers. For those reasons and more I am campaigning to get a better deal for the UK's 7 million unpaid carers." You can follow Rachael campaigning on Twitter here.
Elizabeth Mistry
Combines journalism and caring having previously worked as a travel writer and foreign correspondent until she found covering human rights abuses in Latin America wasn't compatible with looking after UK-based parents with increasingly complex needs.

When her son was born, she joined the growing ranks of sandwich carers juggling caring for children and parents and became aware how little support is available for people who find themselves in the position of having to choose between family and career.

She is keen to ensure more unpaid carers - especially new and expectant mothers - are identified as early as possible in their caring journey and determined to support a carer's right to choose whether they continue working rather than feel they have no choice but to put their earning life on hold or give up altogether.

A strong advocate for better training for employers of those with caring responsibilities - as well as for carers who lack the resources to negotiate for themselves, Elizabeth - who worked in the arts and education prior to entering journalism, would like to see caring and associated issues included in a meaningful way on the National Curriculum giving young carers the recognition and support they deserve.

Elizabeth supports a number of initiatives designed to give unpaid carers a much needed respite break and is currently working on a project which would see Local Authorities, the arts and hospitality sectors recognise the unique position of unpaid carers by extending the same concessions currently offered to other low or unwaged people, whether or not they are accompanying a cared-for person.

You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter here.
Helen
volunteers her time to We Care as a communications specialist. She cares deeply about the issue and is keen to highlight the issues sandwich carers face. These are carers who look after elderly relatives and young children at the same time. Helen tweets here about communications for charities, social enterprises and companies.