North Yorkshire teenager shares experience of being a young carer
Bethannie hopes it'll make others feel less alone
A North Yorkshire teenager is sharing her experience of being a young carer in the hopes it will help others to feel less alone.
14 year old Bethannie from York helps care for her older brother who has autism.
"Not many people really understand"
"Usually I have to help my brother with his breakfast and his morning routine, I have to then get him on the taxi, then when I get home I can't do anything unpredictable, I can't meet up with friends either because I need to be there in time for him to get home and to do his routine afterwards. I usually help with tea a bit and just a lot of routines and having to do stuff with him instead of by myself or with friends."
"It's kind of hard because there are not many people who really understand and when you try and explain to people they just are kind of like 'you don't have to do that, that's what your parents are for'. But it doesn't work that way to be honest."
"My old friends, they used to go out all the time with each other, like they would randomly ask at the end of the day, 'do you want to come to my house? or do you want to do this?' and I'd always have to say no because I couldn't be unpredictable because if I wasn't going to be there I'd need to know at least a week before."
Bethannie gets support from York Young Carers and says that has been vital: "They have drop ins like inside of school time so even if you can't go after school you can still talk to them and its quite good like to be in a group because you can talk to people who actually get it. You don't have to talk about it, just knowing you are not the only one can be really helpful."
Meanwhile a survey has found more than half of young carers can’t get a regular break from caring, while almost a quarter say there’s no one else to provide the care they do.
The findings have been released to mark Young Carers Action Day. The time young carers spend on their caring role mean young carers often miss out on education, friendships, holidays and many other things their classmates take for granted, the survey showed.
The survey of 423 young and young adult carers found nearly one in five rarely or never get a break (17%), while 40% said they got one only some of the time. Just 15% said they could take a break whenever they wanted.
Asked what stopped them getting a break, almost a quarter (23%) said there was no one else to provide the care they give. Two-fifths (40%) said they worried too much about the person they care for to take time out from looking after them.
Almost three-quarters of young carers (72%) said they miss out on the holidays because they provide care, the survey showed.
Many also felt they were shut out of a lot of the things most other children get to do. Nearly half (49%) miss out on friendships, and 46% on hobbies. Almost two-thirds (65%) said they lacked time to themselves and nearly one in five (19%) felt they were missing their education.
Where to get support?
If you are someone you know needs support with their caring responsibilities you can contact York Young Carers by calling 01904 715490 or emailing [email protected]