Young Carers Awareness Day

Young Carers Awareness Day 2020 is today (30th January) and is designed to raise awareness of the challenges faced by young carers and campaigns for greater support for them.
 

The Carer’s Trust say, ‘Every day across the UK thousands of young people help to look after someone in their family, or a friend, who is ill, disabled or misuses drugs or alcohol.’ And this is exactly why this needs to be highlighted so that support can be offered.

This day is an annual event and is led by the Carer’s Trust. This year, through their #CountMeIn campaign, they are calling on compulsory education providers to do more to proactively identify young carers and to ensure that they receive the recognition and support they deserve.

The Carer’s Trust also say, ‘Recent research shows that one in five secondary school children may be a young carer. For many, their caring journey begins at a much younger age. Caring for someone can be very isolating, worrying and stressful. For young carers, this can negatively impact on their experiences and outcomes in education, having a lasting effect on their life chances.’

These statistics show how important this topic is and everyone is encouraged to join in the conversation on social media using their hashtags. #CountMeIn and #YoungCarersAwarenessDay.

The Carer’s Trust has a variety of resources available including a social media pack.