Melanie's story

Melanie* has a very demanding caring role for both of her parents and her husband, who have a range of physical and mental health conditions. Her parents have come to live with Melanie, who also has two teenage children and works full time in a stressful job. Melanie would like to retrain in a job that she can do from home, working flexibly around her caring role. She was awarded a grant of £200 towards the cost of a course in Sports Massage Therapy.

Melanie said: “I wanted to try something new and completely out of my comfort zone when I was trying to decide whether or not to change jobs. With caring for my parents, who live with me, as well as my husband and being parent to two teenagers, I wanted to explore a profession that could work around all of my caring commitments.”

A friend of Melanie’s suggested a course introducing massage techniques for remedial and therapeutic uses. She discussed her thoughts with her support worker at her local Carers Trust frontline partner, who helped Melanie apply for funding to pay for the course. Melanie didn't think grants could be offered for something like this could be offered for something like this, so she was surprised and pleased when her application was successful.

The course was incredibly informative and she felt had gone back to school. Melanie continues: “I really enjoyed learning about the different techniques as well as discovering how this would help the person receiving the sports massage. So far I've given massages to my parents, children, husband and some close friends. As my confidence increases I hope to get a paying client."

“I feel proud of myself for trying something new, this is completely different from anything I've done before. I wouldn't have had the opportunity if it wasn't for the grant I received. Thank you so much.”

 

* Identities and photos of carers and the people they care for have been changed in the interest of privacy.