This Christmas we are supporting local charity Sheffield Young Carers by donating £250 to help support the marvellous work they do with young carers across Sheffield.
Astonishingly, there are over 7,000 young carers in Sheffield - that’s an average of 2-3 in every classroom and 20 in every GP surgery. The average age of a young carer is 12, so Sheffield Young Carers offers support to children and young people aged 8-25, who live in Sheffield and provide mid to high level care for 1 or more family members.
Caring can impact on children and young people’s lives in many ways:
- Around 1 in 20 carers will miss school because of their caring responsibilities
- 1 in 12 young carers is caring for more than 15 hours per week
- Young carers are one and half times more likely to have a special educational need or a long-standing illness or disability
- Young carers are more likely than the national average to be ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET) between the ages of 16 and 19.
SYC supports these young carers by offering one-to-one support, group activities, respite holidays and support with education, employment and training. SYC relies on funding and donations so that they can continue to provide young carers with this vital help and support.
The Sheffield Young Carers website is full of case studies from some of the young carers the charity has helped over the 21 years it has been running. The carers have also produced a suite of videos aiming to raise awareness of the challenges they face daily. The below moving documentary was made by young carers aged 13-21 about their experiences as carers and of their journeys creating a performance to get their voices heard.
If you would like to know more about how this amazing charity is supporting young carers across Sheffield, visit their website here: https://www.sheffieldyoungcarers.org.uk/
If you are interested in showing your support then more information on how to make a donation can be found here: https://www.sheffieldyoungcarers.org.uk/why-we-need-your-help/