Made With Care

Adult social care (ASC) faced 131,000 vacancies in England. The challenge? The sector was widely seen as low-paid and undesirable, a perception sharpened by the cost-of-living crisis. Yet care work offers something most jobs can't: profound emotional fulfilment. To make people feel that truth, not just hear it, casting became everything. Five researchers spent two months searching England, reaching 50,000+ people to find real care worker and recipient pairs who embodied the job's emotional heart. Their genuine bonds doubled ASC job applications to 90,000, against a target of 41,600.