Believe in Children

in partnership with and funded

by BMBC

www.barnardos.org.uk 11 Churchfield Court, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2JT

Tel: 01226 298 748 Email: barnardosvoices@barnardos.org.uk

Barnardo’s Registered Charity Nos 216250 and SC037605 9591/RRD07

“Best thing about young carers is that I met

new people and shared my worries.”

Barn

sley

Youn

g Care

rsContact Barnsley Young CarersFor more information or to make a referral please call us on:

01226 298 748Teacher Don't

understand

Other children

Don’t understand

Anxiety

Troubles

Money issues

Pretending to be somethingyour not

Peer pressure

People in life feel they find living hard,

But many people are wrong,

When your life revolves around caring,

you’ll feel so lucky to live your life without such a huge job,

But if you think twice of a young carers role,

Nothing is harder than a huge responsibility on young shoulders,

Honestly... it’s harder than you think!

enth

usia

stic

Parents

and

pare

nts ha

veKid

sha

ve t

o b

e

the pa

rents

to be k

ids!

abandoned

Stressful

Joyf

ul

talking People you

love out of

Self harm.

Self - esteem + image

Personal Development,

growing up quicker.

more mature, having a older head on younger shoulders.

These are the feelings we’re here to share.By four young people standing strong and tall.But here we are young and small.

in this project you meet newPeople, younger or older to share similar experiences.

Shor

t fu

se!

very difficult to look after 2 people at once.

Lif

e L

ong S

kills

unfair

Laughter

upset

lend

ing a

han

d

mixed emotions -

complicated feelings

Life

You have

to think

twice as hard

(going off to work)

Over

whelming

gain

ing

mor

e in

dep

end

ence

Feeling lone

ly

Passe

d

around

(from pe

rson to

person)

(if Your

parents

are

in

Hospital)

Hum

ilia

tion

...

as

peop

le d

on’t

rea

lise

you

r

cir

cum

sta

nces.

Lack of sle

ep

trying to ma

ke su

reth

at e

veryth

ing goes to Pla

n.

Lack of

Me time

Draining

Feelinglikeyour in the middlebetween People who you love

(Family)

understanding

your

rolement

keeping u

p

with

things

Dist

ress

edT

imes

try to

do you

r

best a

nd h

and

ling

situa

tions

well

your not

on your

own!

keep

going

(sometim

es)

Worried about your Parents

con

fuse

d a

s to

wha

t's go

ing

on.

Anxious

Fun!

Bein

g a

ble

to

talk

to

my

bro

ther

as

he

c

an’t

ta

lk t

o m

um

or

D

ad

.

about h

is w

orrie

s r

ega

rd

ing s

chool +

feelings

Sticking

togetherhelpin

g o

ne

another

Friend

s ma

ke you

Feel b

ette

r when

your d

own

Y.C is A

wesom

eYou

get a

da

y a

wa

y from

Hom

e a

nd y

ou c

an forge

tfor a

while

!

No fa

ith in a

child

But Fa

ithin e

very

bod

y e

lse’s k

ids!

Frustra

tin

g!

Lackof

Sleep

Low

self

-est

eem

Somet

imes

Vibr

ant!

Da

rk...

y

ou a

re a

n adu

lt

but

at s

choo

l you

are

a ch

ild.

frie

nds

not

und

ers

tand

ing

very

sup

port

ive b

ut h

ard yo

u gi

ving

ad

vice

but

neve

r ta

king

you

r

own!

People

’s Jud

gment

Pare

nts+

Fam

ily!

Sometimes it

Can Be

Difficult!

Annoye

d

Always got to Be StrongFeeling older

than you

actually are

Physically

Thinking that

your on your ow

n

and your not

m

eetin

g new

Peopl

e

tha

t do t

he

(Pret

ty m

uch)

as yo

u

I cope by

Dance

boxing on the wii

singing

yoga

writing musicPiano + guitarPoetry

walking

talkingfree running!

Cooling off

Hitting my pillow

Silence

‘Zone out’

Friends

Thinking about the futureReadingwatching films

Spending time with my pets

Going home

Putting 2 positive ending to my dreams.

fant

ast

ic f

riend

ships

optim

istic, fee

l

posit

ive eve

n

if ru

bbish

Social life

Depr

esse

d wh

en m

um is

...be

caus

e I n

ever

kno

w wh

at

happ

ens w

hen

I leav

e he

r

ha

ndling m

oney

Oth

er you

ng People

don’t h

ave

to ha

ndle

mone

y and

ca

n keep

up w

ith th

ings:su

ch a

sFa

shion

Phone

sa

nd oth

er th

ings.

exa

ms/

colle

ge,

When you have made

arrangements with friends

but you have to carefor your parents. Then

friends fall out with you

because they say you

have let them down

Som

etim

es y

ou

don’t k

now

wha

t t

osa

y f

or t

he b

est.

You d

on’t k

now

if y

ou

are d

oin

g rig

ht o

r w

rong.

Atte

ndan

ce

Loosing out onChildhood

Who is the service for?Young people under the age of 18 who care for a family member.

We know that caring for someone who may be unwell, disabled or using drugs or alcohol can have a big impact on your life. It can be difficult to find the time to do things for yourself, like spending time with your friends or keeping up to date with your school work.

Why?Young carers sometimes need extra support due to the caring responsibilities they may have.

Some young carers may have difficulties around education, some may have a limited social life, some may just need a person outside the family to talk to.

How can we help?• Family Group Conference• Advocacy• 1 to 1 Support• Group work• Information and advice• Activities• Opportunities to meet other young carers

What is a Family Group Conference?A Family Group Conference is a family meeting, a chance to discuss what needs to be done and find your own solutions to issues and difficulties that you face.

You know more about your family than professionals and agencies ever can. You know your strengths and therefore you are in the best position to put together a plan to ensure the wellbeing of your children.

“It’s an opportunity to make a plan to reduce the impact of the caring role on the young person, identify new support networks and access 1 to 1 support, and group work, and activities in the community.”

Getting your family and friends together to do this is good because the best people to help are often those closest to you.

Families can include not only parents and children but also grandparents, uncles, aunts as well as family friends and neighbours.

Key workers/project workers and teachers who are currently working with your family could also be invited to attend.

What is an advocate?Telling your thoughts and feelings to people you don’t know very well may seem a bit scary to some young people and this is where an advocate can help.

An advocate will arrange to meet you before your family meeting and will listen to your thoughts and feelings. They can help you to think about different ways to put your views across which could include writing a letter, making a video or using pictures.

The advocate can be at the meeting with you or even talk at the meetings on your behalf.

For help and support Contact Barnsley Young Carers on 01226 298 748

“It managed to help get me back

into school.”

“My favourite thing is that I met people

that are in the same situation as me.”