We support young carers, aged between 5 and 18 years.
We support young adult carers, aged between 16 and 25 years.
You may be a young carer if you support someone at home by helping them do any of the following because they can’t do it themselves due to needing care and support. Here are some examples of the type of tasks you may do as a young carer:
Life is different for each young carer so the support we offer will be made to fit your own situation. You can also access one-to-one or group support work to get the help that’s right for you.
Support workers can help you manage your feelings, worries about caring and share your ambitions or wishes while getting a chance to build your knowledge and skills around caring. You may want to know more about the condition of the person you care for or chat about your future.
It is important for you to have time out from caring but it can be difficult to do that because of the price or you may not be able to join in because of caring. We provide free activities so that you get a chance to have fun, make new friends, be with others who understand, have time to yourself and do things you may not usually be able to
Please look at our online calendar or newsletter to find out more.
Some of our experienced young adult carers volunteer their time to mentor other young carers who need a little extra help. These mentors are a great support as they have already been on a caring journey themselves. They know how to get the right help, do well in education and make time for fun around caring. We also have trained adult befrienders to support young carers.
This support is available individually or in a group.
We offer a range of training to support you in your caring role and young carers themselves design the programme. What we deliver has been informed by the carers steering group. In the past, we have provided training or workshops in: first aid, managing conflict, managing stress and pressure, self-esteem and self-confidence.
Please look at our calendar or the newsletter for more details.
Carers assessments, look at everything you do as a carer and how we can help. One to one sessions with a Support Worker can help you with your feelings and anything related to caring. We know young carers need a time out so we offer activities at little or no cost to give you a chance to have fun and make new friends with others who understand. We also run peer mentoring and befriending sessions. You will also be issued with a carers card that can be used for discounts.
Yes, you can, if you are over the age of 14, you can have limited support from us.
You won’t be able to attend any of the events or activities as we need parental consent for that but you will be able to have a one-to-one session with a support worker. This can be arranged to take place at your school or at another appropriate place.
Not all of them. We support a lot of carers and we never have enough places for everyone. We make our selections based on a young carer’s need for a break from caring first. After that, we then look at when was the last time you attended a trip. You can register your interest in everything, if there is no space you will be put on the waiting list. If anyone drops out you may be called last minute to see if you want to attend.
Meeting other carers that know what you are going through helps reduce isolation.
We always do a quick icebreaker for people to get to know one another a bit better. There are also staff, peer mentors and befrienders that can help you. You do not have to do anything you don’t want to, it is entirely up to you. This is the same for any activity we have, if you change your mind that is ok.
Some young carers only have a carers card and feel that they don’t need the support we offer but use the card for discounted or free places for activities.