How Can Young Adult Carers Help You?

• 1-2-1 support directly for you. We will help you make informed decisions and find solutions to the issues that affect you. This could be anything that you identify to help you, such as Financial Support and Information, education in Life Skills, Budgeting, issues with Transport, Housing, and any of the following areas below. But this could also include support for you via your cared for, “what helps them can also help you”. For example this could include Financial support / information for them such as Benefits and Grants.

• Signposting. This is putting you in touch with specialist support and information that could help you find the answers to your personally identified needs. This could include Further Education, Training and Employment.

• Advocacy. Someone to help you have a voice and speak up and to create a better awareness and understanding of the needs of YAC’s.

• Time out activities. This includes personal activities for you, support and help to find the money and time for hobbies and leisure pursuits for example, as well as Group Activities, managed and organised by you through YAC’s groups with as much or as little help from Young Adult Carers Support Workers, giving you the opportunity to get together and make friends with other YAC’s and have some fun, mostly fun but also the support and understanding of people who care as you do. After all, no one knows or understands you better than you know yourselves.

• YAC’s Groups. These are groups set up, organised and run by you who meet in 4 areas across the county to get together, again mostly for fun and peer support, but also plan and organise activities, training events that could help you as a carer, as well as help direct the ongoing development of the service, that’s part of the user led bit.

• Facebook. A dedicated Facebook area just for you guys. The easy and efficient way for you to stay in touch with each other, support and help each other, discuss issues and debate anything that concerns you as Young Adult Carers.

• Forums. Not a part of the Young Adult Carers Service in itself but another useful way for you to have your say about things that concern you. Carer led meetings to raise and discuss issues. Forums meet across the county. Don’t be shy, the more you speak up the more will get changed!

• Your Rights. What are your Rights as a Young Adult Carer? Click on here to find out what rights you have as a carer.