Carmel is a former primary carer for her mother who received a very late diagnosis of vascular dementia; Carmel cared for her mother until the end of life.

Carmel has been advocating for and involved in devising community initiatives that are best placed to support community members and address their needs since the 1990s. In 2016 Carmel began advocating for the voice of persons with disabilities and the primary carer/ family. This advocacy work includes building awareness around the importance of staff/management training specific to caring for people with cognitive diseases such as dementia and down syndrome and highlighting the importance of the voice of the public being included in research from the beginning.