Who is a Young Carer or Young Adult Carer?
‘Young Carers’ are children or young people who have caring responsibilities for someone they live with who is ill or disabled. The person being cared for may be physically or mentally ill, frail or elderly, disabled, or misuse alcohol or drugs. They could be a parent or other adult, or a child or young person.
We use the phrase Young Carer to cover anyone from age 4 up to 25.
The support the Young Carer gives can vary, depending on their age, and the needs of the person. It could include:
chores or housework at home
cooking, perhaps for the whole family
helping with medical needs, including taking the person to appointments, or giving them medicine
personal care, like changing nappies and washing a sibling
managing household bills
looking after other younger siblings when a parent is busy with the person being cared for
fully managing the household
Some older Young Carers may have Power of Attorney(s) for a parent, and manage everything for them.
Why is it important we support Young Carers?
Young Carers often feel that they cannot share their experiences with anyone else. They may not even realise that their home situation is unusual. The caring they carry out can get in the way of their own lives. This might include falling behind at school as they do not have time to finish school work. They may also be unable to do activities outside school, or socialise with friends. Many young carers also feel that none of their school friends understand what their home life is like.
Giving young carers the right support at the right time can give them a better chance of succeeding in all areas of their lives.
Who provides support to Young Carers in Cornwall?
Kernow Young Carers supports carers from the age of 4 to 25. This service is provided by Barnardos, via the Cornwall Carers Service and further details can be found below.
The NHS has a useful page about the support available to Young Carers generally:
How can you get support?
If you are a young carer or a young adult carer, you can;
Call the advice line 01736 756655 or complete a self referral form on the Cornwall Carers website. The service will carry out an assessment of your needs and discuss with you the support you could get.
We try to help you across all areas of your life. We aim for you to:
feel supported
have good physical and emotional health
enable you to access and achieve your potential in education and training
meet other young people in a similar situation, to make friends who understand
If you are aged over 18, you may be in a situation where you are the only responsible adult in your household. If you have significant responsibilities for someone, there is extra information you might find useful. There may be benefits you are entitled to, as well as respite care, and other help.
The person you care for doesn’t have to get support from Adult Social Care for you to be entitled to get support as a Young Carer.
If you are supporting someone who you think may be a young carer, you can call the advice line 01736 756655 or complete a professional referral form on the Young Carers website. We recommend that you discuss the situation with the young person first, to ensure that they understand that a referral is being made.
Your school, youth group, sports team, faith organisation or other group may have a Young Carers policy. This should help you understand how to recognise a young carer, and understand what support they may need.
Carers First has a useful resource around recognising Young Carers:
Anyone who supports someone else with their health and wellbeing can talk to the Cornwall Carers Service. Further information on Cornwall Carers Service can be found below:
Our Carers Strategy
We spoke to carers of all ages and backgrounds to understand what matters to them to help develop the strategy. The strategy has informed the specification of a new community-based support service.
The service will centre around a number of different priorities, including:
Providing improved access to information and advice
Making sure support is flexible and person-centred
Recognising the emotional and financial impact of caring
Recognising the impact that caring roles can have on children and young people’s development
Supporting people to maintain their own health and wellbeing
Providing different ways of accessing support, both digital and non-digital
Stronger collaboration between health, social care, and voluntary sector partners
Some key parts of the new service include:
Connecting carers of all ages with a wider range of community-based well-being activities, peer networks, and specialist support.
Partnerships with education, children’s services, and youth organisations that will ensure young people with caring responsibilities are better identified and supported.
Training and engagement across health, social care, and community partners to ensure carers are recognised as experts by experience.
Access to statutory carers assessments for carers of all ages, and short breaks, to prevent crises
View the All Age Carers Strategy
Would you like to provide feedback from your experience as a young carer or young adult carer?
If so, please email youngcarers@cornwall.gov.uk.