Are you under 18 and providing care for a member of your family or extended family who has a long term illness, disability, drug/alcohol related illness or mental ill health?
What is a Young Carer?
Young Carers are children and young people under the age of 18 who provide care, support or assistance to a family member with care needs. The majority of Young Carers care for a parent, but the person with care needs may be a sibling, grandparent or any other family member.
Young people aged 18-25 are identified as Young Adult Carers.
A child becomes a Young Carer when the level of care giving and responsibility becomes inappropriate for that child. This may then impact on his or her emotional or physical well being, educational achievement and life chances.
A Young Carer may be deemed to be a 'child in need' as defined under the Children Act (1989).
Did you know?
- Young Carers are more likely to miss school and have lower education attainment at GCSE level than their peers and have poorer health outcomes (Hidden from View, Children's Society)
- 13,000 of the UK's Young Carers care for over 50 hours a week and the average age of a Young Carer is 12 years old (Barnardo's from 2011 census)
- Young Carers aged between 16 and 18 years are twice as likely to be not in education, employment, or training (NEET) (Carers Trust)
Gofalwyr Ceredigion Carers, Young Carers Service
The Young Carers Service offers one to one support to children and young people who care for a family member with an illness, disability, mental health issue or drug/alcohol related issues.
Breaks from their caring role are provided in the form of group activities and meeting with other Young Carers.
For more details and to access the service please contact:
Gofalwyr Ceredigion Carers
Phone: 03330 143 377
Email: ceredigion@credu.cymru
Website: www.gofalwyrceredigioncarers.cymru
Address: FREEPOST CREDU
Supporting Young Carers in Ceredigion
Booklet: Information for Young Carers
Why do we need to act now to identify, signpost and support Young Carers?
Young Carers sometimes have to cope with depression, guilt, isolation, worry, anxiety & stress. This in turn can lead to:
- Loneliness
- Bullying
- Low school attendance
- Lack of social skills
- Low educational attainment
- Missed opportunities
- Neglect
- Mental health problems
- Breach of rights under United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC)
- Missed social and educational opportunities
What Young Carers may do:
- Practical tasks – washing, cooking or ironing
- Personal care – bathing and dressing
- Emotional support – offering a "listening ear"
- Physical lifting and carrying
- Assisting with medication or collecting prescriptions
- Helping look after younger siblings
- Ensuring safety
- Managing the family budget and paying bills
- Interpreting
How can you recognise a Young Carer?
They may....
- Be secretive about their home life
- Appear tired
- Be late for school or activities
- Rarely go out with friends
- Appear anxious or worried all the time
- Show signs of problem behaviour
- Be missing school
- Seem withdrawn or depressed
- Have poor health or personal hygiene
- Struggle to concentrate and seem distant
What you need to do:
If you recognise a Young Carer please ensure you offer them support and provide information and/or signposting using the key contacts below.
These are one of our most vulnerable groups in society. This is now your duty under the new legislation.
Key contact if you identify a Young Carer:
Ceredigion Contact Centre:
Tel: 01545 574000
Minicom: 01545 574001
Email: contact-socservs@ceredigion.gov.uk
Save the date!
Young Carers Action Day is on Wednesday the 15th of March 2023.
Each year the day takes on a theme, the theme for 2023 is Make Time for Young Carers.
This theme highlights two things that are really important for young carers:
- The need for professionals and responsible adults to make more time to listen to young carers about the challenges they face
- Once they understand this, they need to make time to put the right support in place for young carers