Southampton Young Carers charity calls for more funding as festival launches for 25th year
Carers groups from across the UK are expected to be in attendance
A young carers charity have called for more funding for carer groups as their festival launches this weekend for its 25th annual event.
The YMCA Fairthorne Group are running the world's largest gathering of young carers this weekend, and are stressing the need for more funding as carer groups are left unable to bring all their young people with them.
Whilst the charity is expecting around a thousand young carers to attend Fairthorne Manor, many are unable to.
Karina Barnett, Head of Operations at Fairthorne Manor, said: "We know that the young carers groups that are supporting them can't bring all of their young people for multiple different reasons.
"It's a shame we can't get more here for things like funding, transport, staffing, there's so many different barriers that are in the way.
"There's a huge amount of groups that are closing down constantly out there and there are young carers groups again that haven't got the funding or the support that they need.
"These young people need people who are qualified, who know how to support them or where they need that support, so trying to find those people and fund them is the biggest thing."
Young carers play a vital role in not only their families, but also in wider society, contributing to an estimated £184 million saving for the NHS by being unpaid carers, according to YMCA.
Ms Barnett says the festival means they can listen to what the young people are saying.
"They need that support and to be heard and what can we do for them to try and make it better?
"That's what we take away from the festival every year.
"What can we try and advocate for them to make sure there aren't 10s of thousands of unseen young carers out there?"
The Young Carers Festival runs every year for young carers groups all over the UK.
The festival will run from the 27th to the 29th June at Fairthorne Manor in Southampton to celebrate the 25th annual event.
Karina Barnett, said: "This weekend is all about them so they can come here, have some respite and time away to just be a young person.
"Those groups support them day in, day out, throughout the year, and then they bring them here for the weekend to hopefully have the time of their lives in a couple of short days.
"It's so important that we can provide that environment that people feel safe and secure and they can just be themselves."
YMCA Fairthorne Group is a local community charity that delivers support to more than 40,000 children, young people and families across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
The group run local community projects and initiatives such as nurseries, school holiday activities and housing for vulnerable young people aged 16 to 25.