Young carers and young adult carers
A young carer is a child or young person whose life is affected by looking after someone with a disability or a long term illness, often taking on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult.
A young carer is someone under 18 who regularly helps to look after someone who has:
- a long-term illness
- a learning disability
- a physical disability
- mental health difficulties
- problems from mis-using drugs or alcohol
The person they care for could be their:
- mum or dad
- brother or sister
- grandparent or other relative
The support a young carer provides could include:
- housework, cooking and shopping
- looking after younger brothers and sisters
- helping someone to get washed and dressed
- making sure the person they care for is safe
- talking to other agencies (for example, the doctor) about the person they care for
- giving medication
- giving emotional support
Being a young carer can be very difficult. Some problems that young carers might face include:
- difficulties with school and doing homework
- not enough time to see friends
- worrying about the person they care for
- feeling different from others
- other people not understanding what it's like being a young carer
Young carers can also find support through the Young Carers Service (ymcaswansea.org) (opens new window).
Young adult carers
Young adult carers are between 16 and 25 years old. They often juggle their caring responsibilities with:
- the demands of further or higher education
- looking for work or navigating the benefits system
- starting their working lives
- a serious emotional relationship
- thinking about leaving home
Ask Social Services for support for yourself as a young adult carer or the person you are caring for Common Access Point for Health and Social Care (CAP)
Young adult carers can also find support through the Young Adult Carers Service (swanseacarerscentre.org) (opens new window).
Social Services are here to help, either by getting you the support you need, or by providing support for the person you care for.
If you would like to get in touch with Social Services, you can speak with a social worker about any difficulties you have due to your caring role and about the support you may need.
If you do not feel comfortable contacting Social Services yourself, there are others who are able to do this for you, such as the Young Carers Service (ymcaswansea.org) (opens new window) or Young Adult Carers Service (swanseacarerscentre.org) (opens new window), someone from your school, the National Youth Advocacy Service (nyas.net) (opens new window), or anyone else you trust to represent you.
The following organisations are also here to help young carers and young adult carers: