North Lincolnshire Council is supporting Young Carers Awareness Day on 31 January to help raise awareness of the caring role young people undertake and the support that is available for them.
This year, there is a key focus on young carer’s mental health. Being a young carer can be a risk factor for the mental health of children and young people. #CareForMeToo is Carers Trust’s campaign that aims to raise awareness about mental health and improve support for young carers.
The council’s Wellbeing and Young Carers Team offers information, guidance and advice when a child is taking on or intends to take on a carer role. If a child’s education, health, wellbeing or social time is affected because of their caring role, they can offer support.
The term young carer includes children and young people under 18 who provide essential practical care and/or emotional support for another person or family member, who is physically or mentally ill, disabled, has a learning disability, or misuses alcohol/drugs and/or substances.
Caring responsibilities are important and relied upon within the family in maintaining the health, safety or day-to-day wellbeing of the person receiving support or care.
The Wellbeing and Young Carers Team’s focus is to reduce excessive caring activity and to ensure that any identified impacts on children and young people from their caring responsibilities are well supported. Children and families can request a young carer’s needs assessment to assess support needs and requirements.
Anyone can contact the team for information and support.
If you are a young carer or a family member of a young carer and would like to find out more information about how the team can support you, go along to one of the drop in events. You can speak confidentially to a member of the team and ask any questions you may have.
What a young carer might do:
- Practical tasks, such as cooking, housework and shopping
- Physical care such as helping someone out of bed
- Emotional support such as talking to someone who is distressed
- Personal care, including helping someone dress
- Managing the family budget and collecting prescriptions
- Helping to give medicine
- Helping someone communicate
- Looking after brothers and sisters
Some young carers in North Lincolnshire were involved in creating a video to share their experience of being a young carer. Watch it on YouTube.
For more information or advice, please contact the Wellbeing and Young Carers Team on 01724 297000 or email youngcarers@northlincs.gov.uk. More details can also be found on the young carers page.
Further details on Young Carers Awareness Day, visit the Carers website.
Cllr David Rose, cabinet member for Children, Families, Learning and Leisure, said:
“Caring for someone can be challenging, especially at a young age. Every year we support Young Carers Awareness Day to help raise awareness. We want to let young carers know that they are not alone and that there is support available to make their lives that little bit easier.
“If you are a young carer or you have a young carer in your family, please get in touch with the Wellbeing and Young Carers Team.”
According to the Carers Trust there are 700,000 young carers in the UK (BBC 2010) and one in three young carers spend between 11 and 20 hours a week caring.
