Star Stories: Unpaid Carers Support Southampton

Unpaid Carers Support Southampton has been proudly recognised as a recipient of one of our Stars for Stars award, celebrating its longstanding and exceptional commitment to supporting unpaid carers’ mental health and wellbeing across the city.

Unwavering dedication

The entire team was nominated in recognition of unwavering dedication to carers who often juggle immense responsibilities while facing isolation, exhaustion and emotional strain.

The nomination highlights how the team consistently goes above and beyond, listening with empathy, offering emotional reassurance and providing tailored guidance that enables carers to continue in their vital roles while feeling valued and supported themselves.

Vital role

Debbie Hendry, Service Manager, shared her delight in the team’s achievement and said: “We are incredibly proud to have been nominated for the Stars for Stars Award. Our team is dedicated to supporting unpaid carers with their mental health, enabling them to continue in their vital role of caring for others.”

Individual needs

At the heart of Unpaid Carers Support Southampton’s approach is true listening. The team understands how easily carers’ own needs can be overlooked, and they ensure individuals feel heard and understood when they reach out for support. Through information, one-to-one guidance and personalised support, carers are helped to navigate their own unique caring journeys.

Build resilience

Recent initiatives, such as the carers’ mindfulness course, have provided safe and supportive spaces where carers can focus on their own mental wellbeing, connect with others in similar situations and gain vital peer support. These spaces help build resilience and remind carers that they matter as individuals.

Carers comments

Carers themselves have shared the impact of this work with comments like these:

“Thank you for listening to me…I felt like I mattered.”

“Sharing joy at the Christmas event helped me face the festive season as an unpaid carer.”

Our Stars for Stars recognition reflects the impact of a team whose compassion, adaptability and commitment make a meaningful difference to lives every day.

Like to nominate your star or stars?

Put forward your star, or stars, today and help us make Southampton a brighter, kinder place for all. Please nominate them here! Nominations for our current quarter can be made until the end of June 2026.

You can also find out more about the scheme here.

From April 2026, we’ve made a small update to our Stars for Stars nomination guidelines. We ask that individuals don’t nominate themselves, or the organisation or place where they work.

Nominators may remain anonymous, but we do request contact details so nominations can be verified if needed. We warmly encourage service users, friends, family members, supporters and community members to submit nominations – your voices are what make this people-powered and meaningful.

Photo taken with thanks to Tim Kenyon Photography.