Care, Children and Young People
Support for young carers from Gateshead
Around 240 young carers who live in the Gateshead area of Tyne and Wear, who devote themselves to looking after family members with serious physical and mental health conditions, will receive help and support with their own needs, thanks to a grant from Durham Freemasons.
The £24,000 grant will enable the Young Carers Service to provide ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ peer group activities for young carers, aged 8-17 years, who have emotional support needs, brought about by their caring roles and responsibilities. Many of these young carers are isolated and struggle in social settings, which has a negative impact on their mental health. This project aims to build their confidence and self-esteem, by giving them the opportunity to meet other young carers in a safe, supportive, and non-judgemental setting.
The funding will have a huge impact on improving the emotional well-being of the young carers. They will each be invited to join in two small group activities, delivered by experienced and qualified staff, designed to make them feel able to relax and talk about their feelings.
These sessions are an integral first step towards improving the confidence and emotional well-being of the young carers and helping them join a range of larger activity groups
Many children who are young carers are ‘hidden’. In 2018 the BBC completed a survey that identified that there were 820,000 aged 11-15 years, but the 2023 school census only had 39,000 children registered as ‘known’ young carers. This clearly shows that many young carers are not being identified or offered the support that they desperately need. Being a young carer has a huge impact on all areas of a child’s life. Almost 60 per cent report that it has a significant negative impact on their mental health. Young carers also experience lower educational attainment, often due to poor attendance or struggling to do homework or revision. These issues, if not resolved early in a young carer’s life, can continue to affect them into adulthood.
This project will give the young carers the space and support to overcome the barriers that they face and experience the same freedom and opportunity that is available to other children and young people.
We’re very grateful to Durham Freemasons for their generous grant. The young carers we support have to mature much faster than other children and have responsibilities that would challenge most adults. They’ll get the chance to be children, with improved mental health, and get a well-deserved break from the stresses of their caring responsibilities.
I’m really pleased we’ve been able to help Carers Trust Tyne and Wear with their hugely important project to support unpaid carers in our region. These are children who have adult responsibilities and are often isolated. Often they lack a social life and have difficulties coping with their schoolwork on top of their caring duties. The Carers Trust gives them a chance to actually be the children they are and to improve their mental health and wellbeing.