Wandsworth Young Carers Project supports children and young people aged 5-18 who are affected by the illness or disability of a family member and provide care (physical and/or emotional) to that family member. The person they care for may have a physical disability, chronic illness, mental health issues, drug or alcohol dependency or HIV/Aids.
Caring can be isolating and demanding for children and young people and we aim to ensure that they are identified and supported so that they may have occasional breaks from their caring role.
We offer:
- Two monthly clubs for our age groups: 5-7 years, 8-10 years, 11-13 years (2 groups) and 14+ years.
- Day trips, outings and activities in the school holidays.
- Drop-in for information and advice.
- Residential holiday breaks (currently three a year).
- Young Carer support and advocacy.
- One-to-one support for young carers in ‘crisis’.
- Home visits.
- Linking to other agencies and support networks.
Work is continuing with Wandsworth Borough Council to highlight the issues Young Carers face and to ensure they are recognised, heard and supported. The project continues to visit schools in the borough to train staff and run assemblies to raise awareness, knowledge and identification of Young Carers.
