Young Carers

If your looking for info on the Young Carer groups run by ysort-it click here
Info leaflets from Y Sort-it - Don't Bottle it up - A guide to being a young carer in West Dunbartonshire

Young Carers are people up to the age of 18, whose life is affected by the need to provide care & support with..
* A physical disability
* A learning disability
* A mental health issue
* A short or long term illness or medical condition
* An alcohol or drug problem

Who do Young Carers care for?
Young Carers can care for a member of their family, including parents, brothers or sisters, grandparents or wider family members. Young Carers can also help care for a friend or be in a relationship with a partner who needs their care and support with everyday tasks.

What Kind of things does a Young Carer do?
There are loads of things that a young carer might do whilst caring for someone:
* Shopping
* Housework like cleaning, washing clothes or dishes etc
* Giving medicine or collecting prescriptions
* Looking after brothers and/or sisters
* Personal care like bathing, showering
* Cooking meals
* Budgeting money or collecting benefits
* Helping someone move around
* Giving emotinal support and encouragement

Being a Young Carer can be tough...
Given all the things that a young Carer needs to organise or do it is no wonder that sometimes life can be tough, because a Young Carer may...

 
 
* Not have time to be with friends
* Get picked on or teased
* Struggle to study or get homework done
* Struggle to get to school or college on time and miss classes
* Not want friends to come back to the house or let them know that they care for someone
* Feel worried, stressed or tired
* Feel different from everyone else

All Said and Done beign a Young Carer can also be rewarding...
It is okay to have mixed feelings about being a Young Carer. It can be a positive and rewarding experience with many benefits including:

* Learning to care for people
* Learning new skills and experiences
* Widening knowledge and understanding
* Learning to become independant
* Developing good coping skills
* Probably being more mature than your friends
* Devekoping good problem solving skills
* Learning to communicate with people
* Learning about life
* Learning to be organised
* Developing a good sense of humour