One young carers story…

Who do you care for and why?
I care for my mum because about 2 years ago we found out she had epilepsy and severe depression and I just started caring for her.

What does your role involve?
She’s not in bed all the time so she does things around the house. I help her with various tasks like cooking and cleaning and keeping everything okay.

Do you have time for enough social life?
If I’m not busy then I go out. My mum doesn’t tell me to stay at home because I have to care for her. She’s very open and sometimes I go out with her.

Do you find it easier being a carer from being in the SYCP?
Yes because I found that I’m not the only person in this situation and some people do care about what my life involves.

What support do you get from SYCP?
I find that people listen to me and I get advice and give advice. Like if I’m really depressed about the situation at home, I feel free to talk about it to somebody. It opens you up a bit. You get to meet new people from different cultures.
You go out and experience new things, it’s fun and very relaxing. It helps take my mind off things.

Are your friends understanding of your role as a young carer?
Yeah, my close friends do because I have nothing to hide. There’s nothing wrong with being a young carer. They are very supportive.

What are the difficulties for you of being a young carer?
I have no difficulties. I feel happy being of use to my mum. I don’t want to be a teenager who goes out and doesn’t care about anything and I feel close to my mum when I care about her.

Do you think having an extra role from the ones a lot of young people have, has its positives now or will do when you’re older?
Yes lots. I will be more mature about what I do and I’ll be a good cook like my mum!

Do think feel that the fact that a lot of young people are carers could be highlighted more in the media?
Yeah, because lots of people don’t want to open up, like if they’ll be picked on. I think we should expose what we actually do. It’s not a bad thing. We are different teenagers.

There are an estimated 1,900 young carers in Sheffield. These are young people between 8 and 21 who care for a parent or family member. Young carers are defined by the fact they provide a considerable amount of unpaid care within the family. There are lots of ways this care can happen. It might involve simple tasks like washing the pots, cleaning around the house and cooking - or more complex care such as, household budgeting, managing medication or giving emotional support.

Why do young people become carers?
Young people normally don’t choose to be a carer, but become one through the situation they find themselves in. Sometimes they are the only person for the job because a family can not afford extra help. It might be because a parent has an illness or disability that stops them from having a normal life. A young carer might be supporting a parent who has a dependency on drugs or alcohol or one who may be finding it hard to cope for a number of reasons. Statistics show that more than half of young carers come from single parent families but every young carer’s situation is unique and it’s impossible to put them into boxes.

Difficulties of being a young carer
Young people don’t normally have a large amount of responsibilities and worries but young carers often do. Aspects of caring such as nursing a parent, helping a sibling with homework or managing money, can be stressful, demanding and time consuming. All of which can have a knock-on effect on a typical childhood. Going out with friends, socialising and school work are some of the visible ways it might suffer. Invisible setbacks can include loneliness, frustration and worry. The pressure of responsibility, which at our age many of us don’t yet understand, can cause a distance between how peers relate to young carers. Problems at school may be made worse from feeling unable to explain situations to other young people or teachers and this may lead to being judged unfairly by both.

Support for young carers
In the last 30 years young carers have been recognised by the government who have introduced several parliamentary acts which are there to support young carers. Most cities now have services and networks to support young carers and Sheffield has it’s only project dedicated to them.

Sheffield Young Carers Project (SYCP)
Has been going for over 10 years. It’s run by kind and helpful staff and supports young carers in many ways. Primarily it offers a break from caring roles through activities where young people can speak to others going through similar things or just switch off and have fun. It also offers support from adults who have a clear understanding of their needs. They may take them to the cinema or be there if they want to talk. They may offer ways they can ease the pressure, such as making school staff aware of a situation a young people may not want to talk about directly. They also work with other services like Connexions.

Benefits of caring
Despite the extra pressures on young carers, many enjoy their caring role and find it very rewarding. They get a boost from caring. Often the experiences and skills their role gives them make them more mature and aware of the world before many other young people. They can also help others if they are suddenly thrust into caring.

I have admiration for young carers as I’m sure it takes a lot of strength. Knowing there are young people not so far away, who don’t take for granted what many of us do, should get us thinking about what we value and what we take for granted.

By Tom Hoyle


If you feel you could be considered a young carer or you know of someone who might be but that is not getting help, contact…

Sheffield Young Carers Project
information@sheffieldyoungcarers.org.uk 0114 2584595

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