Alt.Cardiff December 2020 - Issue 1
If it’s offbeat and it’s in Cardiff, then it’s in here
SUFFERING
HEROES The impact of the pandemic on Welsh young carers AND OTHER STORIES FROM LOCKDOWN
THE COLORFUL ISSUE
LOCAL FOCUS
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FOR ELDERS
mid the pandemic’s growing problems of loneliness and isolation within the elderly population, a Welsh charity teaches caregivers to support care home residents through art. If the project originally focused on bringing artists to care homes across Wales, new workshops targeted at carers have been introduced to teach staff how to create art with their residents. This initiative has been particularly important during the Covid-19 pandemic and the different lockdowns, as many care homes had to stop allowing family visits for the safety of all. The unfortunate effect of which was to further isolate a population already subject to loneliness. Sarah Lord, project coordinator of cARTrefu since 2019, explains: “In these difficult times, art gives people a purpose.” She goes on to add: “It passes the time as well. Being able to have those few hours of fun working on something together is really beneficial. Allowing people to express themselves and their feelings is so important.”
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According to the Mental Health Foundation: “There is growing evidence base which verifies the positive impact participative arts can have on the health and wellbeing of older people.” From an increase in confidence and self-esteem to improving cognitive functions and communication, Sarah states how amazing the differences that you see in people by really interacting with the arts can be. She recalls: “For example, one lady didn’t speak at all for the first few sessions with the artist. She had severe dementia, and throughout the sessions, she began speaking again.” Social isolation is a recent phenomenon for many, despite being common for a significant part of the elderly population. The cARTrefu project creates a new sense of community between residents and staff. According to Sarah it also encourages, “Everybody to realise the value of people within care homes and what they have to offer.” A resident working with cARTrefu - Credit: cARTrefu
Lockdown Lifeline We’re here, we’re an essential service and we haven’t got anywhere. Even if it seems there’s no way out:
Credit: Sîan Hopkins
THERE IS! ”
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mid the pandemic and a recorded surge in domestic violence, Cardiff Women’s Aid operates daily online workshops to support victims of abuse. Cardiff Women’s Aid is the Welsh capital’s division of the national Women’s Aid Charity, helping more than 2000 women and children escape abuse per quarter. Specialised in domestic and sexual violence, they had to move most of their services online within two weeks of the first lockdown. According to the Office for National Statistics, provisional data from police forces indicate a clear rise in domestic abuse incidents during the lockdown. Over this time, Cardiff Women’s Aid played a crucial role in providing crisis support and aftercare recovery for victims. The aftercare workshops are designed to ease women’s transitions back to a normal life after going through crisis support. Venice Fielding, community engagement
manager at Cardiff Women’s Aid explains: ‘‘It’s about continuing connection with other people, finding accessible healing for your trauma on your own term.” Some women even call it a lifeline Although it existed pre-pandemic, the program launching online has proven to be essential to tackle isolation. Participants have doubled in a year, jumping from 140 in 2019 to 280 in the first six months of 2020. “Some women even call it a lifeline,” said Venice. The workshops are designed as a safe space for women to connect with others who have gone through similar experiences. There is also a strong focus on connecting women to their bodies, through dance, tai chi, or yoga. The pandemic ultimately revealed that holding the workshops over Zoom allowed more people to join, and there is a will from the charity to keep operating them in the future.
LOCKDOWN Story A day before opening night, they “banned social gatherings above six
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hat started out as a hobby five years ago is now Peter Wolinski’s main creative outlet, but he never expected his work during lockdown would lead to an exhibition at KIN+ILK. Peter likes “normal people.” Far from the airbrushed magazine covers and the ultrasaturated Instagram filters, his preferred black and white aesthetic features anyone that piques his interest in the streets. Pacing the alleyways of Cardiff, Bristol, Swansea, or Newport, he is always on the lookout for impromptu models. For a brief moment, these everyday people become the centre of attention. “I like the kind of candidness of a real person going out that day, never thinking they’d be the centre of a portrait,” Peter explains excitedly. And it shows. Each portrait freezes in time unexpected moments of normality, “glimpses into the everyday lives of regular people on the street,” as he puts it. Peter started taking portraits of people back in March, right as the world entered a global state of emergency. If portraying “life during lockdown” was never his goal, the empty streets, and the masks here and there are the elephant in the room – or in the street. Although it wasn’t the original intention, these photos have become testimonials of life during the pandemic. Peter doesn’t portray the “new normal” that media talk about. Instead, he shows that normality never really went away: people still play music, they work, they grab a Starbucks. Mostly, they still smile. Maybe it’s what gives his work all the more impact. According to Peter: “Many people get freaked out when you put a camera in their face.” But it didn’t prevent him from meeting and getting to know many of them. Not only was photography an outlet for the 28-yearold to express himself, but it was also a way for him to engage with people, at a time where many suffered from social isolation.
PROFILE
PETER WOLINKSI As things progress, he looks for more specific models, sometimes walking up to 12 kilometres a day to find them: “At the beginning I just took anyone, but now, I deliberately look for people to fill the gaps I want to fill, and when I feel like I haven’t represented a subset of people Credit: Peter Wolinski as much as I’d like to, I’ll go and look for it.” And because he suffers from arthritis, an immune disorder causing joint pain, this was also the occasion for him to exercise while doing something he loves.
An exhibition undermined by social distancing
The exhibition came as a surprise. One day, as he was inside a KIN+ILK café in Cardiff looking for models, someone noticed him, liked his work, and proposed to feature it inside the venue. “Someone really appreciating something you care about is just the best feeling ever”, he states. Disappointingly, however, the exhibition opening night came just as the Welsh government announced a limit of six people for social gatherings. Nonetheless, the pictures will be available to view in the café until the end of the year, and Peter continues to promote his work on his website. On top of this, Peter is currently finalising an MA in Magazine Journalism while finding the transition to a full-time career in journalism “difficult” due to the pandemic. Nonetheless, he is happy with his choice to do a Master as he feels this will open up more opportunities in the creative fields. For the future, Peter hopes to do more exhibitions. He says photography is so important to him that he will continue no matter if he can make a career out of it or not. In the meantime, he is trying his luck in photography competitions, and keeps looking for normal people to point his camera at.
Pictures of the exhibition. Credit: Peter Wolinski
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SUFFERING
THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON WELSH
YOUNG CARERS
Credit: Kelly Sikkema
HEROES
LONG READ
At the beginning of lockdown, young carers saw the frontline step to their door, and their support system crumble at the same time
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hen the government announced the first lockdown, it was with a clear idea in mind: to slow down Covid-19 infection rates. Many saw this as an opportunity to take a break from their routine. For young carers, however, staying home meant being stuck with more responsibilities. While the pandemic affected everyone, the situation for them has been particularly hard, and many struggled to find a healthy balance between their personal lives and their caring obligations. For many, lockdown meant they were now expected to take care of someone full-time, on top of managing their work or studies. As we are nearing one year of the pandemic, a survey reveals that 40% of young carers and 59% of young adult carers saw their mental health worsening during the pandemic. The YMCA group of Cardiff who supports over 350 young carers across the Cardiff & Vale area has noticed a clear increase in depression, anxiety, and panic attacks from the people they keep up with. This can be explained by several factors, as Robyn O’Brien, the young carer’s coordinator for YMCA states: “There was a lack of coping strategies as it was a new situation, but also the worry of leaving the house due to confusion over social distancing while having the pressure to continue studies or employment.”
The confusion over some of the The issue was anxiety-inducing Covid-19 guidelines in the UK for everyone involved and would led to situations that were hard to have been hard to deal with for deal with for young carers. a younger carer, who might not Nazia Akram lives in Cardiff, have been able to stand up for their and she grew up taking care of rights. Young carers often end her brother who suffers from up becoming advocates for the muscular dystrophy. She found person they are caring for when herself in a disagreement with they can’t express themselves. Situations like these are even one of the NHS local health board more stressful considering one over the Covid-19 guidelines. She explains: “Right at the thing that massively impacted beginning of the pandemic, my young carers’ mental health throughout brother asked the pandemic for his carers to is the fear wear a mask. of passing This decision the virus was contradicted - Nazia on to their by one of the NHS local health board who vulnerable family member. said the WHO guidelines didn’t Nazia’s brother kept repeating: “If demand to wear masks because I get it, I’m dead.” As a result, she they don’t really do anything. sacrificed more of her social life, She even told the carer who was isolating earlier and longer than present that day to assist me and everyone else. my brother to take her mask off.” Unfortunately, troubles don’t A week after this incident, end here, and young carers had to masks were made mandatory. face many extra challenges.
“ I feel like I’m his voice
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Alt.Cardiff - 5
LONG READ During the pandemic, the government released videos and leaflets in different languages to explain the crisis to everyone.
Forgotten voices
However, as Nazia explains: “A lot of ethnic minorities, even though they can speak and understand a language, can’t actually write or read it.”
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A lot of people feel like if you can’t speak English your voice is not worthy to hear
Positive experiences
Elly Savva, a 23-year-old Cardiff University student has had a positive experience during the pandemic. She grew up as a carer for her brother who has autism and started a new job as a carer at the beginning of the first lockdown. In her case, she wouldn’t have worked in care without the pandemic. She states: “I hated not having something to do, I hated that I didn’t have anything to give, so I did everything I could to be involved and be helping somebody. That really motivated me. Taking care of someone helped me put my anxiety in perspective on the whole situation.” The pandemic didn’t only impact young carer’s mental health negatively, but for the most part, it prevented them from taking care of themselves. As Nazia says: “A lot of carers don’t look after themselves, because they have it in their mentality that their family member has it worse. They feel as if they don’t have permission.”
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Credit: Auguste de Richelieu
-Nazia This led many BAME young carers to have to translate news for their parents, which only added to the weight on their shoulders. This is particularly dramatic in the case of younger carers, when the information they have to translate is sensitive, of medical nature, or could potentially shock them.
This is something YMCA Cardiff is trying to tackle with their Time 4 Me project, where different young carers are connected to talk about their struggles. YMCA Cardiff also offers other forms of support: • 1:1 support with a youth worker • Training & education through accredited courses and additional skill building sessions • Respite activities • Social opportunities & peer mentoring • Access to youth club • The opportunity to join a youth forum
Many young people will emerge from this pandemic with more caring responsibilities, to make up for the losses and the damages caused by Covid-19. These new carers might not know about the existence of support structures like YMCA. It is important to hear their voices, and tell them there is help.