Young Carer & Young Adult Carer As a Young Carer you may be helping with chores around the house to keep the house manageable for the person you care for such as fetching and carrying. Some of you will be preparing food and drinks, sorting out medication, or looking after younger brothers and sisters. A lot of you will be providing personal care for the person you look after. Most of you will be keeping your eyes and ears open to make sure the person you care for is well and safe, keeping them company, spending more time with them than your friends might be with their family members. Many Young Carers will feel responsible for the emotional well-being of the person they care for. Young Carers can often feel very different to their friends. You may be embarrassed, upset, and even scared of what might happen if people find out. You may sometimes feel sad, tired, guilty or maybe strong and confident. You may feel as though you are quite alone as it is not always easy to know or meet others in the same situation.
Former Carer A Former Carer is someone who through bereavement has lost the person they cared for. It is possible for someone to be both a Former Carer and an active Carer for someone else. Your rights as a Carer www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/guides-and-tools/your-guide-to-the-care- act-england
Under this Act, the following expectations are supported.
• The right not to be discriminated against or harassed under the Equality Act. • The right to choose whether or not to be a Carer. • The right to self-determine willingness and ability to care. • The right to be supported to identify which of the cared-for needs you might be willing and able to support. • The right for the Carer’s views to be considered by Social Services when organizing provision for the cared-for person. • The right to a free flu vaccine. • The right to be identified as a Carer. • The right to have your well-being considered both emotionally and physically. • The right to be able to integrate within the community and access services. • The right to have access to advice and information to support you and the cared for. • The right to have a Carer Assessment (details of what this entails can be found in Section 3).
As a Young Adult Carer, you might be involved in personal care or emotional support for the person you care for,
domestic tasks or general care. It might be difficult to manage your caring role with school, college or work and you may feel isolated and that friends don’t understand what you are going through. Or you might feel your caring role has made you more confident.
Parent Carer A parent Carer is someone who provides support to their child, including grown-up children, who cannot manage without their help due to illness, disability, or mental health issues. Often parent Carers of children and young people don’t use the word ‘Carer’. They may not have considered that the support they provide is above and beyond the norm of a parent.
How might Caring affect me? Being a Carer comes with as many positives as negatives. Sadly, only the negatives are often reported. Caring can sometimes have a negative impact on your own health and well-being. Carers rarely spend time looking after their own health and well-being and can too easily get caught up in caring for someone else.
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