What is the Cornwall Young Carers project?
There are many children who live with disabled or chronically sick adults, carrying out caring responsibilities that may undermine or interfere with their schooling and social and emotional development. Children in such circumstances have different needs and require special support.
The Young Carers project empowers and advocates individual young carers between the ages of 4 and 18 years to sustain their caring role by informing, helping, and arranging time out and listening to them. The project also provides great benefits to the young people of Cornwall by ensuring that their voice is heard.
This project has been running since 1996 and helps approximately 250 individuals each year.
We are delivering this service to:
- Try to minimise the impact of young carer’s duties on their schooling and social and emotional development
- Identify young carers and provide emotional support, arranging respite breaks and activities
- Ensure that all statutory and voluntary services recognise the role young carers have within their homes
- Improve the services offered to young carers and their families
- Ensure that young carers are consulted on the service and its effectiveness
What can the Young Carers Project do for you?
The service operates throughout Cornwall with two full time co-ordinators and they provide both group activities and one to one support.
The project has provided trips to such places as London, Disneyland Paris and Alton Towers.
We have held Conferences and Roadshows, which have helped raise awareness of the plight of these young people.
How it works
We meet young carers, those being cared for and professionals for a chat to discuss how the project could help them.
Meetings can be arranged in a place, at a time and with people they feel comfortable with.
We receive referrals from Parental Support Advisers, self referrals, the Department of Adult Care and Support, Children, Schools and Families and Connexions.
Funders
The service is supported by Adult Care and Support and Children, Schools and Families. We also receive a quarterly grant from the Primary Care Trust and raise other funding for specific pieces of work. For example the West Cornwall Youth Trust (www.westcornwallyouthtrust.org) is currently enabling work with care of adults with dependencies. We also raise funds by delivering talks and presentations to local groups.
Befriending Service
This part of the service offers young carers between the ages of 5 and 12, who are identified as needing one to one support and an adult volunteer will support them over a 6 month period. These volunteers are CRB checked and undergo training before a young carer is referred to them.
Radio Cornwall Interview
The following Radio Cornwall interview was held in October 2009, to publicise the Young Carers Roadshows, which were aimed at professionals to raise awareness regarding the roles of young carers caring for an adult.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If you are a young carer and would like to find out more, please contact us!
