Making Carers Count - Young carers and young adult carers 

Bridgend Carers Centre

Established in 1999, Bridgend Carers Centre provides information, advice and support to improve the wellbeing of unpaid carers of all ages. We have developed a range of specialist services including for parent carers, carers of people with cancer, Veteran/Armed Forces carers and carers of people living with dementia and young carers and young adult carers. 

We provide practical and emotional support, respite activities, counselling, legal advice, and financial support through our Welfare Benefits Adviser.

About the project:

The Making Carers Count project will extend and develop support for young and young adult carers, improving accessibility for those in excluded communities throughout the County.

We will provide a range of outreach services, working closely with education and health professionals and community groups to raise awareness of young carers needs. We aim to reach currently unidentified young and young adult carers who may be unaware of their rights and the support available, and who may be at risk of social isolation and loneliness.

Carers Plus Yorkshire (previously Scarborough & Ryedale Carers Resource)

At Carers Plus Yorkshire we believe unpaid Carers and those we support in the wider community should feel listened to, supported and empowered to live their best possible life.  Our Mission is ‘to enable those we support to be heard, enhance their resilience, improve their well-being and make positive changes in their day to day lives’.  We have been supporting Carers for over 25 years and recently took charge of services in Hambleton and Richmondshire in addition to our original geography (Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale). When exploring the needs of this significant rural area we were acutely aware of the lack of a discrete Young Adult Carer Service and the limited footprint of our Young Carer service.

Our Making Carers Count project will see the recruitment of two part time staff who will a) introduce a dedicated YAC support pathway for carers between the age of 16 – 25 and b) expand our provision for young carers in more remote localities starting with the development of school hubs. Our ambition is to build on several earlier development opportunities supported by Carers Trust and see a number of young people in ambassadorial roles to help develop the services, offer peer support and raise awareness of our services in rural parts.

City & Hackney Carers Centre

City and Hackney Carers Centre aims to improve the quality of life for unpaid carers and the people they care for in the London Borough of Hackney and the City of London.

We do this by providing information and advice on rights and entitlements, through counselling, coaching and wellbeing activities in person and online. We also have a dedicated project supporting parents of children with additional needs, one for older men and now young adult carers.

Our Making Carers Count project will enable us to identify young adult carers in Hackney and the City and offer 1:1 support through a project worker, access to psycho-educational and skills building workshops, the opportunity to attend an 8-week coaching programme, see a counsellor and to go on trips and social activities with peers. We will also develop a carer awareness training package and engage with local organisations to improve carer identification in young adults.

Connecting Young Carers (Connecting Carers)

Connecting Young Carers works with 5-24 year olds across Highland in Scotland. We provide respite opportunities through activity days, events and groups. We also provide information and advice to the young people, their families and professionals such as school staff and social work. Our main aim is to have a greater reach. With such a huge geographic spread we needed more workers in the rural areas to ensure equity of our services and meaningful awareness raising of our work. We also aim to continue to grow and develop our online platforms such as Google Classroom for our online group work and digital reach. This project will support us to establish more localised connections and support for our rural communities and provide a reliable online community for all.

Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre

The Central Carers Association (Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre) is a growing and forward-thinking organisation with ambition to provide information and support to an increasing number of carers living in Falkirk district and Clackmannanshire. Carers of all ages can access individual support which includes a listening ear, Welfare Benefits support, short breaks grants, short break activities, and support to complete adult carer support plans and young carers statements.  The organisation also presents opportunities for carers to attend regular group activities, carer training sessions and carer forums.

So that young adult carers have access to the right support, can influence decision making and be involved in improving the knowledge and confidence of targeted partners to refer and support young adult carers. The ‘Making Carers Count’ funding will be used to recruit a young adult carer support worker and to develop, in partnership with young adult carers, dedicated, age-appropriate information, support, and involvement opportunities.

Harrow Carers

Harrow Carers supports unpaid carers of all ages through multiple programmes of support, from Young Carers services to Adult wellbeing programmes, Working for Carers and HomeShare programmes. Through the Making Carers Count project we will be working with Carers Trust Hillingdon to developed a more joined up approach to supporting young adult carers aged 16-25 and together learning how we can support them in this phase of their lives as they balance their caring role and stepping into education, employment and training. Through socials, workshops and one-to-one support we hope to see young adult carers in both our boroughs thrive and demonstrate the strengths of Network Partners working together to achieve for carers.

Plymouth Caring for Carers (Improving Lives)

Improving Lives Plymouth (ILP) is a health and wellbeing charity and has been part of the City since 1907. We run information, advice and support services for people with disabilities, long-term health conditions and their carers. Caring for Carers have been providing carers support services on behalf of ILP for 9 years. The services we aim to deliver through our Making Carers Count project are:

• Identifying young adult carers, collecting and collating information about their experiences and what they feel is necessary to support them effectively.
• Creating a robust process to support transitions from young carer’s services to adult carer’s services.
• Creating and using a ‘planning your future’ document to look at every element of the young person’s life, creating goals and support plans to assist them to feel optimistic and discuss what their options are.

We will also include a support group, activities for fun and respite, forum, intergenerational mentoring and support to include careers educational opportunities, relationships and the importance of looking after yourself.

 Voluntary Action Shetland

Shetland Carers aim to support and empower unpaid carers to manage their caring role and have a life alongside caring. Shetland Carers is part of Voluntary Action Shetland, the third sector interface. This funding will enable us to employ a new worker solely dedicated to young carers and young adult carers in Shetland. The role will be twofold: working with key partners to identify young carers; and providing a support service to identified young carers.

More young carers will be identified and can able to access information, advice and support to help them in their caring role.

More young carers will be supported to have a life alongside their caring role, with increased opportunities to connect with other carers and have opportunities to have breaks from their caring role.