BEING A YOUNG CARER CAN BE TOUGH:  

• Perhaps you don't have as much free time as your friends because of the things you have to do at home.
• Perhaps you are always worried about the person you look after.
• Perhaps you feel a bit different from other kids of your age, and are worried about being picked on.

WE CAN LINK WITH WIGAN COUNCILS YOUNG CARERS SCHEME WHO OFFER :

• SUPPORT AND ADVICE - young carers do not always know where to go for help or to find someone who understand the problems that they are facing. We can provide support and advice, and someone to talk to.
• SUPPORT GROUPS ­ - where you can meet other young carers and have fun in a friendly place,
• BEFRIENDING SCHEME - to develop a relationship with someone who will understand your life as a carer, who will listen, believe and respect how you feel. Young Carers can experience problems at school, feelings of isolation and lack of leisure time. Befrienders listen to their worries, understand and support them, and become one of their friends.

THERE ARE TWO SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR YOUNG CARERS :

GROUPWORK AND BEFRIENDING SUPPORT

Groupwork provides a choice for young carers, giving them friendship and support. It can help to develop the young carers social skills and can reduce their sense of isolation. It will also give them the opportunity to experience the everyday pleasures of childhood, which is an essential part of the process of growth and development. It is a supportive environment in which young carers can be listened to and encouraged to identify their own needs.

The Befriending Scheme aims to match young carers with befrienders on the basis of individual need - someone who will empathise and understand their lives as children and as carers.

Volunteers are needed who are willing to make a commitment to a young carer, and in return they will receive on going support and training.

For further information about these services contact Wigan Council's Young Carers Worker on 01942 705962/3 or email youngcarers@wigan.gov.uk

GRIEF AND LOSS CAMP

Me To You Loss and Bereavement Work/Camps.

Research done in Gloucestershire identified that a significant proportion of adults presenting with mental health problems had an unresolved bereavement in childhood. This led to the setting up of a charity called Winston’s Wish, which is a grief support programme for children aged 6 – 14years. It was set up to meet the needs of children and young people in Gloucestershire following the death of their mother, father, brother or sister. Recent estimates show that over 200 children in Gloucestershire will experience a close bereavement. Death is a normal part of life for a child; however, the death of a close relative can be hard to understand. Adults may sometimes try to protect children from the facts of death, feeling that children are too young to understand or will be too distressed. Yet we now know that children can learn to cope with death when they are involved and given appropriate opportunities to understand events and express their grief.

Friends of Young Carers are holding a residential weekend for bereaved young people at the Anderton Centre Rivington on 5 th,6 th,7 th October. The aim is to provide the young people with opportunities

• To explore and express their feelings in a safe and caring environment.
• To meet others who have had similar experiences
• Help young people remember the person who has died and cope with the challenge of letting go and moving on.
• Educating bereaved young people about death to aid their understanding and ability to cope.

In the course of our work we also identified loss through families splitting up and loosing touch. This experience raised issues similar to those experienced by bereavement.

The programme is led by a small steering group of counselors supported by a larger team of trained volunteers.

If you know of a young person who has been bereaved or suffered a loss through disaffection and you think we may be able to help, please contact Gladys Jameson on 01942 705985 e-mail g.jameson@wiganmbc.gov.uk