A young carer is anyone between the ages of 5 and 24 who:
- provides care, assistance or support to another family member – usually a parent but sometimes a grandparent, brother, sister or other relative
- carries out significant or substantial caring tasks and assumes a level of responsibility which would usually be associated with an adult.
They may be providing care and support for someone who:
Getting help
If you are caring for someone and need help get in touch and talk to us about your situation. We'll look at what support you need and what we can offer. Even if we can't help directly we may know other organisations who can help.
Family Action
Family Action run our Young Carers service for us. They assess your needs and can offer:
- support, advice and help tailored to your situation
- groups and activities to give you a break from caring.
For more information about what they offer download the Young Carers service leaflet.
They also work with professionals and organisations to make sure carers needs are taken into account when developing services and staff are trained properly.
Tel: 0115 947 3023 Email: notts.youngcarers@family-action.org.uk
Web: www.family-action.org.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/familyactionnottinghamshireyoungcarers
The person you are caring for does not have to be getting help from us for you to get support. However, if they need care then we may be able to help. They should contact us and talk about their needs. You, or someone else, can do this on their behalf. For more information about the support available see our adult social care pages.
If you want to find out more about recognising young carers and how to get help, read our Young carers factsheet [PDF].
Personal budgets
If we agree we can offer you support we may offer you a personal budget. This is an amount of money that can help you with things such as:
- going on a school trip or holiday
- leisure activities
- vocational activities
- equipment required for your education such as books or a computer.
Find out more
Our Young Carers strategy [PDF] tells you more about how we are working to support young carers.
www.youngcarers.net offers a wide range of information, advice and support for carers under 18.
Watch the video
Find out what being a carer means to young people in Notts who are involved in caring for others.
