Young carers are young people who look after or help to look after a family member such as a parent, grandparent, brother or sister, uncle, aunt or other relative.  Some young carers may care for a family friend. Young carers may live in the same house as the person they care for, or they may live somewhere else.  Young carers may look after the person they care for all by themselves, or they may help someone else.  

 

The person a young carer looks after may be ill, have a disability, have a mental health problem or a problem with drugs and alcohol.​ You are not alone if you are a young carer.  Research tells us that one in ten of young people are young carers.  We can estimate that there are at least 2,000 young carers in East Lothian.

 

How being a young carer can affect you

 

​Being a young carer can be very rewarding.  It can make you feel good to look after someone you love.   At the same time caring for someone can also make you worry about the person you care for and feel stressed and unhappy.  Here are some of the things young carers have told us they can find difficult about caring

 

• finding it difficult to do homework

• not being able to spend time with friends

• being late to school

• not being able to do after school activities

• looking after brothers and sisters

• being bullied

• ​not being able to go on family outings

• ​being worried about talking about how they are feeling

• ​not having the same opportunities as other people their own age

• not having time to yourself

• ​finding it hard to go onto further education, training or employment

 

 

Do you ever?

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• Feel that you miss out on things because you have to help someone at home?

• Have difficulty coping at school?

• Worry about the person you care for?

• Worry about what might happen if you talk to somebody about any of these things?

 

If you answered yes to any of the above or would like to talk to someone then we can help.  We can provide someone to talk to, fun and time out from caring, the opportunity to meet other young carers and make friends, help with school and support for your family.