How do I handle a long gap on my résumé? (Birmingham)

I have been out of work for 9 months and worry about the gap. There are 7 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. I am nervous about being filtered out. What do you say in interviews?

I listed the volunteering and course under the same dates and kept the explanation to a sentence in the cover letter.

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It saved me later.