During the pandemic, some of us will have experienced caring for others – helping family members or neighbours with shopping and prescriptions, and wellbeing calls – things that young carers have been managing all their lives while balancing school, studying and finding their place in the world. This Children’s Mental Health Week, Paul Maher, Director of High Value Relationships at The Children’s Society, and Melissa Moody, journalist and young adult carer, offer us a glimpse into the world of a young carer – the challenges they face during the pandemic and how we can all be a better supporter to anyone who finds themselves in a caring role.
About the Children's Society
The Children's Society fights for the hope and happiness of young people when it's threatened by abuse, exploitation and neglect.
The Children's Society works with young people who have suffered years of abuse, who have run away from home or are struggling with mental health issues. They look out for young carers and those who are at risk of being groomed by gangs. They help refugees who have no one else to turn to in this country.
Bupa Foundation and The Children's Society
The Young Carers’ Active Connections Programme was funded by the Bupa Foundation to support young carers aged 11-18 in Hampshire to access sports and physical activities. Through providing young carers with access to physical activities, the service aimed to increase young carers’ commitment and desire to do sports, and ultimately improve their physical and mental health.
The service also aimed to make sports more accessible to young carers, and make sports providers more aware of and responsive to young carers’ needs.