Young Carers and Beyond: The Next Generation
We can’t believe it has already been two months since our Young Carers conference, Young Carers and Beyond: The New Generation. It was an emotional, informative and educational day that gave a voice to our young people.
The Conference
We can’t believe it has already been two months since our Young Carers conference, Young Carers and Beyond: The New Generation. It was an incredible and moving day for both our young people and the conference participants. It was truly a conference like no other which emphasised that young carers are above all young people with dreams, aspirations and skills. Their caring responsibility should not be preventative for them.
Testimonial
I was inspired by the strength of the young carers. I learned a bit about their sacrifices. The event was creative , funny and also very emotional
Testimonial
My experience was engaging, informative, emotive and it was wonderful to hear the actual carers speaking in their own words
Testimonial
Personally I found the event very emotional and I felt honored to be let in to their life’s, We learned that people will always try to cope with things in life but sometimes need to look for support and I am grateful that YSS is there to help
Testimonial
My experience about the event was great. We had the chance to hear the story of these young people directly from them. It was emotional but it made me think there are so many people leading a tough life without realising. The event has opened my eyes and I am now trying to think about other people, the different lives they are leading and the challenges they are experiencing
What have we learned from the day
Services, groups and organisations working with young people who have a caring responsibility at home should be identifying them and trying to understand how to best support them. What we find in most cases is that agencies involved in the young person’s life do not talk to one another. This makes a uniform holistic support more difficult.
Young carers are young people aged 7 to 25 years old, who are supporting a loved one at home. The overwhelming message of the conference was that they do not help their loved one because they must, they do it for love. The reason they wake up early, sort out medications, clean, prepare meals, act as a first aider for their loved and support other family members at home is love. They want to support that parent, sibling, grandparent to have an easier life.
The support and care they provide from a very young age gives them a unique set of skillsets and experiences.
Of course, this conference wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our business partners at NEOPERL UK who funded the conference and helped us set up, organise and run this special day. Without this valuable support we wouldn’t have been able to set a conference which empowered our young people’s voices
Would you like to find out more about the conference? Watch this space, as there is more content to come!
