Do you help care for someone in your family with a long term illness, disability, mental illness, drug or alcohol problem?Are you feeling frustrated, angry and not feeling very good about yourself even though you are helping that person? Are you a young person up to 25 years or under, live in Queensland and are at risk of leaving school?


Is there somebody in your family, like your parent or brother or sister or other relative, who has a disability, or a mental illness, or who is very sick or is frail aged? Do you spend time helping them on a regular basis because of their illness or disability or because they are frail aged?

 

Do you do extra house work, like the washing and vacuuming?

Do you prepare meals for your family on a regular basis?

Do you do the grocery shopping, and do you pay the bills for your family?

Do you help shower & dress a family member?

Do you help give medications & treatments to a member of your family?

Are you spending a lot of time worrying about someone in your family who has a disability or a chronic illness and find it hard to concentrate at school?

Do you miss days of school because you are needed at home on a regular basis to help care for a member of your family who is sick or has a disability or is frail aged?

Do you help look after brothers and/or sisters in your home so your Mum or your Dad can give lots of time to looking after somebody who is sick or has a disability or frail aged?

Young primary carers often have to fulfil all caring responsibilities for a parent or family member that often involves undertaking personal care tasks, assisting with mobility and medication, providing emotional support, completing housework or any other tasks that are required. Available data demonstrates that young primary carers provide the same level of care as older primary carers.

 

However the unique vulnerabilities of young carers because of their age distinguish them from other carers and consequently needed to be specifically addressed. Suncare Community Services Commonwealth Respite & Carelink Centre recognise the commitment and compassion demonstrated by these young people and respond in ways that respect and support their role.

 

Many young carers mention the valuable skills they gain from caring and the close relationships they can form as a consequence of caring. Yet they also admit it can also be very demanding. These strengths form the basis of service responses to young carers and their families by our organisation. Appropriate support has been found to dramatically improve young carers' lives and decrease the negative effects that are directly attributed to their caring role including reduced life choices and limited future opportunities through leaving school early.


Across Australia there are well over 400,000 Australian children and young people up to the age of 25, providing care to a family member who has a long-term physical illness, mental illness, disability, drug or alcohol problem Young Carers are children and young people and the person they help care for might be a parent, a sibling, their own child, a grandparent or other relative, or maybe a friend.

 

They might help out with cleaning or cooking, getting their relative around the house, helping with medicines, keeping them safe, showering or dressing or watching out to make sure that they're feeling OK.

 

The Commonwealth Respite & Carelink Centre Young Carer Project was developed to make a positive difference to the lives of young carers (25 yrs and under) and their families and is funded by the Department of Families and Community Services, Indigenous Affairs until 30 June 2008.
 



- Assist young carers with practical support during school terms

- Promote the issues and needs of young carers

- Develop a young carer support network in partnership with relevant agencies, services and schools

- Coordinate a variety of young carer activities in the short term

- Support referrals to local services who can assist young carers and their families

- Develop and distribute other appropriate resources

- Review and evaluate existing support activities 

- Encourage young carers to participate in education.





 

Young Carers Respite and Information Services Program

Further information about respite services is available from the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre on

1800 052 222 (Freecall except from mobiles). Click here for more infromation

 

 

 

 

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