We care because you do
Carer Support Wiltshire is a local charity that supports carers of all ages, including young carers.
Our friendly team understand how hard it can be if you look after or help to look after someone in your family. Your friends or the other kids at school probably have a very different life to you and you may not get the same spare time to do homework or time to spend doing the things you enjoy. That’s why we are here. We work with the lovely people at Wiltshire Council to provide breaks and activities so that you can enjoy time away and spend time with others who understand.
If you are a young carer you are in the right place. Find out more about how we help here.
Read the NHS Commitment to Carers and watch their Young Carer video here.
What does a young carer do?
There are estimated to be over 47,000 people looking after loved ones in Wiltshire. 2,700 are anticipated to be young adult carers between the ages of 18-25 and approximately 700 are young carers from the age of 5. With many not recognising themselves as carers these numbers are expected to be much higher.
A young carer is someone under 18 who looks after someone. It might be a parent, grandparent, sibling or close relative. Young carers often provide practical and emotional support such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, personal care and medication as well as simply being there for company and love.
Young carers can find that looking after someone takes up a lot of their time; it can sometimes be very difficult for them to cope with everything. School work and attendance may suffer as well as finding time for their friends and other activities.
How we help
Working with Wiltshire Council, schools, colleges, community groups and partners such as Youth Action Wiltshire we provide young carers with breaks, activities and opportunities to learn, aspire and grow.
Our Reaching Communities Team and Community Connectors work within the community raising awareness of the issues young carers face and help organisations become carer aware. Our work with schools, GPs, hospitals and health professionals aims to improve the identification of young carers and the support available to them.
Find out more about our work by visiting our main site here
