Young carers support

A young carer is a young person (usually 18 or under) who looks after someone else. The person looked after can be a parent or other family member.

Am I a carer?

The person you look after might:

• have a physical disability
• have sight or hearing loss
• have a learning disability
• have mental health problems
• abuse drugs or alcohol.

Do you do any of the things in this list?

• you help with practical things like cooking, housework, and shopping
• you help them physically, like getting them out of bed or down the stairs
• you help them emotionally when they are sad or distressed
• you help with personal care, like getting dressed or going to the toilet
• you manage the household budget and collect prescriptions
• you give them medicine
• you help them communicate
• you also care for your siblings.

If you help with any of the things on this list regularly, you are a young carer.

Can you help?

We might be able to help you, please contact us. If you’re telling us about someone else who’s a young carer, you’ll need their permission before you tell us about them.

Services we can offer include:

• therapy services
• respite activities for the carer.

You might need to pay for respite services or activities. If you need more help than we can offer, we can let other agencies know.

You can also ask us to look at your needs as well as the needs of the person you look after. We’ll look at how you manage your education, any training you want, and what you do for fun.