Introducing Stories of Care: A Space for Reflection and Recognition

Launched by Anoushka Farouk, Stories of Care was created to rebalance the conversation around social care. The narrative has been dominated by challenge for too long: staffing pressures, funding gaps, burnout and crisis. These experiences are real and indeed deserve attention, but they do not represent the entire care landscape.

Every day, across care homes and communities, there are moments of kindness, leadership rooted in empathy, and teams quietly holding people and families through life’s most joyful and and vulnerable moments.

Stories of Care exists to honour those moments and the people behind them.

At its heart, this project is about listening. Anoushka is sitting down with people from across the care sector - CEOs and registered managers, care workers, activity coordinators, kitchen teams and support staff, to hear their journeys and experiences in their own words. There’s no focus on job titles or buzzwords. Instead, the emphasis is on impact, on what care means to people, what they’re most proud of, and the moments that have stayed with them.

What’s been especially moving about the project so far is the response. In just the first weeks since launching, the conversations have been described as thoughtful, honest and full of heart. There has been laughter, reflection, and those powerful pauses where you realise ‘This is what people need to hear’.

These are stories of goodness, joy and brilliance, often unseen, yet always felt.

Stories of Care is being shared openly on LinkedIn, giving the sector the visibility and recognition it deserves. It’s a space to pause and acknowledge contribution, and a place where people may hear, sometimes for the first time, just how much their work matters. As Anoushka beautifully puts it, “This Is Your Life” for care—a reminder that care isn’t just a system, but a collection of human stories.

While the stories will live online, the vision for Stories of Care goes further. Plans are already forming for an in-person event - a room full of people who understand. A space to connect, celebrate and share energy with others who understand what care really means.

The invitation to be part of Stories of Care is open to everyone doing great work in social care. You can put yourself forward, nominate a colleague, or highlight someone whose behind-the-scenes contribution quietly makes a difference every single day. Whether a story feels big or small, loud or softly spoken, it matters.

We believe in the power of story, and we’re proud to stand alongside this project as it helps tell better stories together, because when we take the time to recognise the people within care, we not only honour their work, we strengthen the heart of the entire sector.