YPDC-Brochure v5.indd

West Dunbartonshire’s
guide to being a young carer
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Young Carers are young
pe ople up to the age
of 18, whose life is
affected by the need to
provide care & support
to someone with...
• A Physical Disability
• A Learning Disability
• A Mental Health Issue
• A Short or Long Term Illness or
Medical Condition
• An Alcohol or Drug Problem
Who do Young Carers care for?
Young Carers can care for members of their family, including
parents, brothers or sisters, grandparents or wider family
members. Young carers can also help to care for a friend or
be in a relationship with a partner who needs their care &
support with everyday tasks.
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What kind of
things does a
Young Carer
do?
There are loads of things
that a young carer might do
whilst caring for someone,
things like:
• Shopping
• Housework like cleaning,
washing clothes or
dishes, etc
• Giving medicine or
collecting prescriptions
• Looking after brothers
& sisters
• Personal care like
bathing, showering
• Cooking meals
• Helping someone to
move around
• Budgeting money or
collecting benefits
• Giving emotional support
& encouragement
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Being a
Young
Carer can
be tough...
Given all the things that a Young
Carer needs to organise or do it is no
wonder that sometimes life can be tough,
because a Young Carer may...
• not have time to be
with friends
• get picked on or teased
• struggle to study or get
homework done
• feel worried, stressed
or tired
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• struggle to get to school or
college on time and miss
classes
• not want friends to come back
to the house or let them know
that they care for someone
• feel different from
everyone else
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But being a
Young Carer
can also be
rewarding…
It is okay to have mixed
feelings about being a Young
Carer. It can be a positive and
rewarding experience with
many benefits including;
• Learning to care
for people
• Learning new skills
& experiences
• Widening knowledge
& understanding
• Learning to become
independent
• Developing good
coping skills
• Probably being more
mature than your friends
• Developing good problem
solving skills
• Learning to communicate
with people
• Learning about life
• Learning how to be
organised
• Developing a good sense
of humour
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Look After
Yourself Too
– Top Tips
It can feel good to look after someone you
care about. But it can also be stressful. If
you are a Young Carer there are lots of
things you can do to look after yourself!
1. Do something YOU
enjoy. Make time each
day to play computer
games, phone friends,
play a sport, listen to
music or just watch your
favourite TV programme.
2. Don’t ignore your feelings.
If you feel tired, stressed,
worried or angry this is
your brain’s way of telling
you that you need a break.
3. Talk to someone, don’t
bottle everything up.
Choose someone who is
a good listener and who
you trust, like a teacher,
youth worker, relative,
friend, health worker
or social worker.
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4. Look after yourself.
Make sure you eat well,
and rest properly.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask
for help. Everyone needs
help at some point. If it is
getting difficult to cope
with things, ask a relative,
friend, doctor, social worker,
teacher or youth worker.
6. Be creative! Write a diary
or a poem, or draw a
picture that says how
you feel.
7. Be assertive! It’s OK to
want things for yourself as
well as looking after other
people. This means it’s ok
to say “No” sometimes.
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Knowing
Your Rights
All young people have
rights - it’s the law!
It’s your right to:
• Be able to take a break
& enjoy leisure time
• Have an education
• Be heard, listened to
& believed
• Be protected
from physical or
psychological harm
• Have privacy & respect
• Information & advice
• Health and social care
• Be consulted and fully
involved in discussions
which affect your life
• To have your needs
assessed
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Fear
Busters
Sometimes you might not feel like going
to school but if you miss the chance to get
the most out of school it can affect your
whole life. You might find it hard to talk to
teachers about personal things but it
is every teacher’s job to help you get
the most out of school.
s
To help you stop worrying, you
could arrange with the school to
make some adjustments to support
you, like:
• Let you use the school phone or
your mobile to call the person you
are looking after without having to
explain why each time.
• Go into lunch early if you need
to get home at lunchtime.
Here are some suggestions you may wish
to discuss with your pastrol care teacher
to make it easier to attend school:
• Give you extra time to hand work in when
the person you are looking after is ill.
• Do detentions inside school time so that
you can get home to look after someone.
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“Some
times I
don’t
want to
come t
school
o
– I am
wor rie
someth
d
ing mig
ht
happen
”
• Help your parents get to parent’s evenings if they have trouble
leaving the house.
• Not ask you about your home life when other people are listening.
• Help you if you are getting bullied.
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Fear Busters...
Young people & children are only taken into care when
people are really worried that they are at risk, unsafe or
being neglected. It is very important as a Young Carer
you know what support is available.
To help make choices about the amount of care you can give
without putting yourself or others at risk, speak to someone
you trust like a GP, social worker, teacher or youth worker.
Remember you have the right to be consulted & fully
involved in discussions that affect your life.
o
t
k
l
a
“T
”
e
n
o
some
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.
“Will I
be
taken
into ca
re?”
People mean well but
sometimes they might not
always understand your
life but you can help set
them straight.
Talking to people about
personal stuff can feel
risky but by discussing
your life as a Young
Carer, you can help them
understand how you feel.
By talking about positive
aspects of caring, you can
then explain the reasons
why you don’t want them
to feel sorry for you.
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Fear Busters...
There are a lot of different reasons why
someone becomes ill or no reason at
all. What is important is that you realise
that it is not your fault; you cannot cause
someone else’s illness.
If you feel like this it would be good idea
find out more information and speak to a
GP or Health Worker to help you understand
more about the illness.
y
m
d
e
i
r
wor
m
a
I
“
s is
s
e
n
l
l
i
’s
parent rse…who
o
w
g
n
i
t
get
?”
e
m
p
l
can he
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.
To get
t
infor m he right
ation a
bout
what is
availab
le,
check o
Helpfu ut the
l Conta
section cts
If you feel that the person
you are caring for is
getting worse and they
are not asking for help,
then you need to talk to
a trusted adult.
Remember you are not
responsible for your
parent’s health, but
professionals supporting
your parents like GP’s,
Mental Health, Addiction
or Social Workers can
help if you let them know
what is happening.
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Helpful Contacts
Y not get on the NET @...
www.youngcarers.net
Has loads of info & advice for Young Carers,
including an interactive section which has a
discussion boards, chat rooms and forums
www.youngscot.org
Young Scot is the national youth information service for young
people aged 11 - 26 to help with important decisions in their life.
It lets young people know about all the great things available in
their local area, as well as in Scotland, Europe and beyond.
www.youngminds.org.uk
Click on leaflets & booklets / booklets for
young people / mental illness in your family
www.mind.org.uk
Click on ‘information’ for loads of information about
mental illness and how to cope if someone you care
about has a mental health problem.
www.childline.org.uk
Check out the website for more details
about ChildLine and how they can help you
Local Contacts
Y sort it Youth Information & Support Network,
24 Kilbowie Road, Clydebank Tel No 0141 941 3308
Email [email protected] Web www.ysortit.com
Social Work
Alexandria / Dumbarton -Tel: 01389 608 080
Clydebank - Tel: 0141 562 8800
Out of Hours - Tel: 0800 811 505
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Who can
help me?
Where
Can I g
et
Suppo
r t?
WD Youth Counselling Service
Dumbarton Academy, Crosslet Road, Dumbarton G82 2AJ
Telephone : 01389 763 373 Email: [email protected]
Any young person that attends local high school can be
referred to this service.
School Nursing Team
Each local high school has a nurse who is available to provide
confidential information and support to young people. Please
ask your teacher or at your school office for more details.
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Brochure design by Nellymooch.com Photography by David-Darling.co.uk
This brochure was created by
West Dunbartonshire Young Carer
Strategy Group and young people
from West Dunbartonshire.
Many thanks to all the young
people who were involved in
creating the images and helping
with the text.
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