Val Hewison was the CEO of Carers Leeds, the vital support service for Carers throughout Leeds.
Working at a strategic and at a local level, Val led Carers Leeds for over 15 years. Her determination and hard work transformed the support available to carers by working together with other services in Leeds to develop a single Point of Access service.
This passion for supporting carers was developed through Val’s personal experiences as a parent carer and her extensive qualifications in social care and management.
Gerard Lavery is Campaigns Coordinator with Unite Community Leeds & Wakefield Branch and before then was Branch Secretary for the same organisation.
He has been involved in campaigning on services to children with special educational needs and disabilities he co-authored the pamphlet on behalf of Unite Community and with Disability Empowerment Links, The Leeds School Transport Campaign: Defending Services for Vulnerable Children. He continues to campaign in this area .
Before retiring in 2019, Pauline worked as a Social Worker in the Children’s Disability Team in Leeds. This work made Pauline very aware of the needs of parents and carers of disabled children and young adults and she is pleased to be able to contribute some of her knowledge and skills to Refresh Carers.
Pauline was also an active member of the trade union (Unison) and was treasurer of the branch (Leeds) for over 25 years. In addition, Pauline is also involved in several community organisations.
Anin Dasgupta works as a consultant in the NHS, based in Leeds. He regularly looks after patients with disabilities whenever they need healthcare within the hospital setting. Working within a multi-disciplinary team, Anin Is aware of many agencies and support services that are available for disabled patients and are always grateful for their help.
While Anin does his best to help his patients, he has become more aware, especially after joining Refresh Carers, that more should be done to support their carers.
Sohini Banerjee is a dentist by profession and has been working in the NHS and private practices for the last 14 years. Sohini meets many patients in her work who are carers for other family members.
Sohini says she never thought about the support carers needed for their own wellbeing before being associated with Refresh Carers - it was an eye-opener. Sohini feels passionate and would like to volunteer and support the carers through the organisation.
Carol Hart lives in Leeds with her partner and two children. Carol works part-time as a civil servant within project management for the DWP. She’s also a parent carer for her daughter
Abigail who is nearly 18 and has a learning disability/Autistic trait and currently attends West Oaks SILC at Boston Spa. Carol is also a carer (everything apart from personal care) for her father after he suffered a stroke six years ago. Her hobbies are limited due to time but when she gets the chance she likes to socialise with friends and enjoys walking.