Carers Week 2026

Building carer friendly communities

Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face, and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. It also helps people who don't think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support.

Carers Week is led by Carers UK with the support of a number of other charities.

The theme for Carers Week 2026 is Building Carer Friendly Communities. We’ll be highlighting the impact carer friendly communities can have in making a real and lasting difference to the lives of carers everywhere.

In our recent campaign, We See You, we discovered that 85% of carers surveyed feel lonely - despite not feeling lonely before the injury.

Carers Week competition

This year, the Headway network of independent and volunteer-led charities has marked Carers' Week with a poetry competition. We're pleased to share the winners with you!

We’re delighted to share the results of the Headway Carers Week Poetry Competition 2026 – a powerful collection of poems written by brain injury survivors to express appreciation for their carers. Every entry was deeply moving, personal, and unique – making this an incredibly difficult competition to judge.

Marie Peacock, Head of Network

The winners

1st place - "More Than a Carer to Me" by Dawn Allard (Headway Worcestershire)

2nd place - "It's Now Eleven Years" by Ste Jones (Headway Sheffield)

3rd place - "Who Cares?" by Louise Treharne (Neuro Connect Carmarthen)

A note from the Judges

Our judges shared just how challenging this was: every poem carried honesty, courage and love. Each told a story only that person could tell – and every entry, in its own way, was powerful and deserving of recognition. Choosing just three winners was no easy feat.

Judges’ reflections on the winning poems

First Place – More than a carer to me - Dawn Allard

More than a carer to me 
How you have cared and watched me weep
The life you give back to me at times I'm weak
The socks, clothes, both all I struggle to do
You have been there and are more than a carer to me

More than a carer to me 
Your sweat, blood and tears are poured into me
No ifs and or but you do it in a blink
no questions or second-guessing
I am your no 1 focus 
More than a carer to me 

More than a carer to me 
If the world was a heart, that's how big yours would be 
If sand was time that what you have put into me 
If water was love, that's what you have poured into me
All these reasons why 
YOU ARE MORE THAN A CARER TO ME

Dawn said: 

"Thank you so much I’m truly honoured that I have been chosen and won that poem was more than a poem to there was so much in it that I live every day and the person I appreciate for all that gets done for me so from the bottom of my heart thank you."

The judges said:

This poem stayed with us. The repeating line “more than a carer to me” builds into something deeply emotional – an attempt to put into words what often feels impossible to express. It captures not just support, but identity, dignity and hope, showing how carers become so much more than their role.

Second Place – It's Now Eleven Years - Ste Jones

It is now 11 years since my injury,
Although it feels like three to me,
A huge chunk of my life just disappeared,
All because of my memory.

I know I've since made progress,
Yet I still feel hungry for more,
I'll never be the person I used to be,
That's something I just can't ignore.

People tell me how much I've improved,
But I have no recollection of this,
I'm just grateful that time is now in the past,
Focusing on the future takes practice.

I've hade to make cutthroat decisions,
Removing the people who've caused me harm,
When getting better, you don't need hassle,
It's an uphill quest to find inner calm.

I know I'm not the person I used to be,
It's surprisingly good in some ways,
I just now have people who help me,
In my world of long sleeps and short days.

Pauline in Sheffield has been valued support,
A similar help in Worcester was Clare,
They've both made me laugh and helped me along,
In a time of my hows, whys and wheres?

My mum is the one who's been there throughout,
Handling all of my ups and downs,
In a time when I've found out who cares about me,
She is the lady who wears that crown.

Ste said: It means so much when I can see that what I was trying to say was made clear. I'm very pleased to hear about the outcome of the competition.

The judges said:

A courageous and reflective poem that balances honesty about loss with optimism and resilience. The writer openly shares the reality of change after brain injury, while holding on to determination and hope. It’s a deeply human and inspiring piece that many will connect with.

Third Place – Who Cares? - Louise Treharne

Uncared for carers. Cared for cries. Unseen dry silent tears. Wet face river tears. My carer cries. 2014 question asked. Is Louise my wife dying? Neurologist doesn't know.

Ataxia not a taxi Karlos told. Neurologists speak jargon. Caring husband's heart blue, not in harmony, lacks rhythm. Met in 2003 now 2026. Brain ataxia stuff progressive.

Cognition impaired and invisible. Soul crushing the dismissive, cruel lack of understanding. Carer knows and willing to learn. 21 years not believed by psychiatrists.

My brain nurse training saved my life. Maybe or maybe not, but got myself, out of psychiatric system to neurology. Unseen and unknown mystery tour.

Not drunk repeats my caring husband. Brain stuff with ataxia wobbles. Clumsy lack of coordination. I might fall. Powerless and hopeless uncared for carers.

No sense of working time but can read clocks but can't spend my life looking at clock face. Planning, organising, became a lost world. Carer frustration I fully understand.

Lost my full stops exhausting. I am aware feeling ashamed. This a disability others don't grasp. Exhausted my husband and carer. My heart will surely break.

In the gutter my dignity. Husband dares to care. Care takes courage. We are both only human. Carer and cared for fatigue. Burnt out or worn-out needs help.

Husband, carer, friend or companion, what next a scary reality for us both. Your care celebrated for eternity. I speak up for carers my forever voice.

You courageously dared to care. If it's time to release golden rings, I respectfully understand with love.

Louise said:

"I was unwell on the day I wrote my poem but my passion for brain conditions and especially related cognitive impairments I quickly wrote something - as couldn’t join your group the day Stephen took the writing group - which I was delighted about as he has been through so much as my carer. Glad for your group that my poem highlights awesomeness in the group."

The judges said:

Powerful, raw and deeply moving. This poem invites the reader into the reality of communication difficulties and emotional strain, expressing both love and heartbreak. The honesty and vulnerability within such a small space make it unforgettable.

About our Judges

Our judges – Stef Harvey, Bruce Powell and Lesley Stephenson – all share a deep love of the written word. Between them, they bring lived experience, creativity, and a passion for storytelling, using poetry as a way to connect, reflect and give voice to experiences that can be hard to say out loud. We thank our judges for their time and doing the unenviable task of trying to select our three winners.

Stef Harvey

"I was raised in a language-rich environment of books, story telling, rhymes and made-up songs. I loved to perform and won writing competitions too. English is wild, flexible, varied and rich, its options are limitless. Language is so empowering, words connect us, they are how we share opinions, senses and emotions and experiences. Language is our right… or so I thought until 2016 when a sporting brain injury took away my language alongside career, leisure, friendships, identity and my whole understanding of the world. Then I learnt that language is a privilege."

Lesley Stephenson

"Art, music and poetry have always been important to me.

A piece of art will jump out at me when I see it.

A particular song will make me sing along or dance to it.

Poems are so very special, words written by somebody about something that means so much to them."

Bruce Powell

"It is almost impossible to judge poetry, I think, because poetry is so personal and so subjective. The words that move one person may barely touch another.

And reading these entries, I was very aware that for every poem submitted, there are countless other thoughts and feelings sitting unspoken out in the community.

That is part of what made reading them emotional for me.

I know how difficult these words can be to say out loud.

After brain injury, communication often becomes complicated. Feelings become tangled. Gratitude can sit right beside guilt. Many of us know, very deeply, the sacrifices our carers make for us. We know they lose time, energy, freedom, sleep, certainty. Parts of their own lives quietly rearrange themselves around our needs.

And that is both beautiful and difficult to sit with.

Sometimes it is genuinely hard to say thank you because the scale of it feels too large for ordinary language.

I think that is why these poems matter."

Our Sponsors

A heartfelt thank you to Fletchers Solicitors for their generous donation, which has enabled Headway to award prizes to our three talented poetry competition winners.

Their support has not only helped us recognise and celebrate the creativity and courage of those who took part but also reinforced the importance of sharing personal stories through poetry. We are incredibly grateful for their kindness and commitment to supporting our community.

Also a huge thank you to everyone who took part – your words matter, and they make a difference.