Big Lottery Fund Provides Boost For Young Carers

The Princess Royal Trust Greater Pollok Carers’ Centre has received a Big Lottery Fund grant of £374,678 to access and support hidden young carers in the Greater Pollok area of Glasgow.
The project will reach 280 carers between the ages of 7 and 20 who have previously not requested help due to fear of interaction by the authorities if caring responsibilities are discovered.

Thanks to the Big Lottery Fund, the Carers’ Centre which is core-funded by Glasgow City Council and managed by the Volunteer Centre, will provide activities such as mentoring, peer support and homework groups, lunchtime drop-in sessions, residential trips and one-to-one support.

Young carers Angela says: “I am delighted to hear that the young carers’ project has got funding to help other young carers like me.

“Without the support of this project I would have been homeless and unemployed. The project changed my life. Thanks to the help I got, I stayed on at school, got tutor support, managed to get into university and was helped to find somewhere to live. I could not have done this without the support I got from the project.”

Linda Allan, manager of the Greater Pollok Carers Centre, notes: “We’re so grateful to receive this money from the Big Lottery Fund. Without it we would not be able to offer such comprehensive support to these vulnerable young carers.

“Our philosophy is about partnership working and we look forward to working with our established local partner organisations to provide a range of specialist support to young carers. This grant will enable us to help young carers make positive decisions in dealing with major transitions in their lives.”

Iona Colvin, Director of South West Glasgow Community and Health Care Partnership (CHCP), adds: "This is fantastic news for the Princess Royal Trust Greater Pollok Carers’ Centre. The funding will go a long way to helping them develop their services for young carers and to expand the support they already give. I look forward to seeing how these services will grow over the coming five years."

For more information on The Princess Royal Trust Greater Pollok Carers’ Centre, please contact 0141 882 4712 or go to www.carers.org/pollok