How young carers can shape the future

This month we have been focusing on young carers, as Young Carers Action Day falls in March. We didn’t want to just mark the day and carry on. We wanted to explore all the ways that young carers can get support, but also demonstrate how much they bring to society and how lucky we are to know them and work alongside them.

At North Tyneside Carers’ Centre we believe young carers have the skills and the insight from their roles to be able to play a big part in shaping the future for themselves and the young carers who come after them.

They understand first hand where the gaps are. They know what it feels like to balance school and caring, face stigma and they know what happens when they don’t feel the same as their peers.

We can learn from young carers and their perspectives. When young carers are involved in decision-making, the solutions become practical and real.

Here are a few ways we think organisations can learn from them.

Sharing their experiences

Young carers can highlight the real impact of decisions made about services that affect them. Their stories add a much-needed human element to these issues and make them harder to ignore.

Involving them

Lots of organisations have young panels or advisory boards. Including young people in policy discussions helps them to influence decisions that directly affect them. At North Tyneside Carers’ Centre we have a Young Carers Forum that meets monthly which provides young carers with an opportunity to have their voices heard and have a say in how things are run here. The forum helps to influence decision making about services for young carers at the Centre and represents young carers views regionally. Important decision makers from schools, local organisations and our board of trustees are regularly invited to the forum meetings.

Giving them a voice

This ties in with the first point about young carers being able to share their experiences. Let’s give them a platform on social media and other online channels to share what their challenges and successes are so that they can reach far beyond their local communities. Digital storytelling, petitions, and awareness campaigns can all help to amplify their concerns and mobilise public support.

To genuinely include young carers, organisations, particularly the government, should actively seek their input on decisions that affect them, they should provide training and support so they have the ability to make their voices heard and they should listen to feedback and be open to it.

Young carers are experts in their own lives. By listening to them and genuinely involving them, we can make things work for them.

If you would like to know more about our work with young carers, visit our website.

The next Young Carers Forum is on Monday 20 April from 4:30pm – 6:00pm, Floor 2, Wallsend Community Hub and Library, Wallsend NE28 8JR.