Carers Week: Raising funds and awareness for our OOMOO programme

At Open Door, we understand that a carer’s everyday life can look very different to someone who isn’t a carer. Accessing a community for yourself as a carer can be challenging, and can look different to others who haven’t experienced the care system.

That’s where OOMOO comes in.

OOMOO is our wellbeing and mental health service for Children & Young People Looked After and those with a Special Guardianship Order, ages 10-18, living on Wirral. OOMOO is a service built around putting young people in the driving seat, through weekly wellbeing activities and 1:1 mental health support through bespoke Cognitive Behavioural Therapy programmes. Movement, creativity and autonomy are at the core of what we do.

Our sessions run weekly after school and throughout half-terms and summer holidays. As an all-year-round service for young people, we can support carers too; reliably creating opportunities for reflective moments, self-care and decompression time for carers when they need it most. Fostering a holistic approach to meeting carers where they are at each week alongside their young person or people, celebrating and cultivating relationships that encourage both to talk about their mental health.

Carer support

Support is embedded within OOMOO’s practice and Open Door’s ethos and extends to carers and guardians too. As well as the down time created by members accessing OOMOO, we offer weekly coffee mornings for the foster carers and guardians of our members who might need extra support themselves with low mood, stress, depression and anxiety, peers can actively encourage conversations around their experiences too and celebrate in their wins of the week, month or year too.

Over the past year OOMOO has delivered 639 different events and support sessions for young people and their carers, contributing to ‘Building a Carer-Friendly Community’ in and out of our four walls at Bloom, a legacy we hope to continue and celebrate alongside our carers.

“OOMOO changed his life. He loved going to the events and sessions because he was in an environment where everyone was like him. Everyone was a looked after child – there was no stigma. It was a place to meet friends, to feel understood. OOMOO is special because everyone involved is passionate about making it work. They tackle tough topics, like suicide, in safe, supportive spaces. It shows that no subject is too hard to talk about, and that’s incredibly powerful” – Foster Carer

How you can help

To keep OOMOO evolving to the ever growing demands and needs of care experienced young people and their carers please consider celebrating this year’s Carers Week through maintaining our service today. OOMOO Members often participate in local events and fundraising challenges giving back to Open Door in their own way and celebrating alongside staff, volunteers and their families.

Last weekend, June 7th, Team OOMOO took on the Wirral Coastal Walk Challenge, an amazing 20k walk along the Wirral’s coastal line in support of Open Door. If you would like to support Team OOMOO directly please head to their JustGiving page. Your support can keep Open Door providing lasting support to families experiencing the care system today.