Thursday 28 January 2016. The public will be better able to understand the hard and often overlooked role of young carers, thanks to a new campaign by CSH Surrey in conjunction with Surrey Young Carers.
Young carers were invited to submit artwork, photography, songs or video to help explain what it feels like to be a young carer. The two winning entries were created by 8 year old Chloe and 12 year old Amber. Their artwork will be used on social media and to create posters and postcards that CSH Surrey's school nurses, health visitors and other health professionals can use in their day-to-day roles working with children and young people. This includes making them available in primary and secondary schools as well as in the wider community, for example, in children's centres, libraries, leisure centres and GP surgeries. CSH Surrey hopes the campaign will enable them to reach and support more young carers as well as raise the profile of young carers more widely.
The campaign was the brainchild of Sarah Tomkins, young carers' lead at CSH Surrey. She was able to turn her idea into reality after the project was awarded £250 for winning CSH Surrey's Quality Prize, which is awarded as part of CSH Surrey's Quality Week in October every year.
Research released to mark Young Carers Awareness Day reveals that 80% of young carers are missing out on childhood experiences because of caring for family or friends who are physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuse substances. Instead of seeing friends, enjoying hobbies and completing their homework, these children are cleaning, cooking, administering medicine, shopping and looking after a brother or sister – along with many other daily tasks. Half of all young carers provide up to 10 hours of care a week, while many others are caring for more than 50 hours a week. It’s not surprising that young carers often struggle to fit in other activities like school work, playing sport or meeting up with friends.
Sarah Tomkins says: "Chloe and Amber's posters reflect the reality of the 700,000 young carers in the UK who work around the clock providing care and support to family and friends. We know there are many more young carers in our community than we know about and I feel privileged to support and champion the needs of young carers in Surrey through this campaign, which will raise awareness of this amazing group of young people."
Lisa Roberts, Participation and Workshops Coordinator at Surrey Young Carers, says: "We want our campaign to get people talking about the thousands of young carers who are so often unidentified, and who miss out on the vital services and support that they are entitled to. We hope that our campaign and Young Carers' Awareness Day will increase awareness and understanding so that children and young people with caring responsibilities can be more easily identified and helped, along with their families, to access the right support."
CSH Surrey is also working with Surrey Young Carers on the development of a Podcast, and are planning an exciting event in February to continue to spread the word.
Young carers wishing to connect with others like them can join Babble (young carers under 18) or Matter (young adult carers aged 16 to 25), which are safe online community spaces that provide a place for young carers to connect, share experiences and access information and support.