Young carers testimonials

I started caring for both of my parents from the age of 6 - I became a carer overnight when my mum had an accident but despite countless hospital visits, doctors involved and most people knowing I had 2 disabled parents, I didn't become an identified young carer until I was 14 years old - when my attendance plummeted at school because I just couldn't cope anymore. Trying to balance caring for 2 parents with...Continue reading→

This Saturday my older brother will graduate magna cum laude from Volunteer State Community College with his Associate’s degree in Computer Information Technology. While every degree is special, this one is particularly significant. Earning this degree was a hard-fought battle, requiring perseverance, inner strength, and tenacity. 18 years ago, my brother made a decision that put his entire life on hold. When our mother was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, she underwent a spinal surgery...Continue reading→

I believe that teachers should be prepared for what it means to have young caregivers among their students to know how to approach them and learn about them signals to watch out for. Young caregivers need to feel in a safe environment and that they know they can count on teachers interested in their well-being, available to listen to their problems and ready to direct them to the professional more adequate for them. If my...Continue reading→

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Living in a home where drugs, criminality, violence and mental health disorders are commonplace can feel like a rollercoaster ride that doesn’t stop. It gets faster and faster with each year that passes and tempting as it sometimes is, jumping off, you think, will end with serious injuries, maybe even death! Regardless, jumping off would mean leaving everyone in the family, not just the one, who in some way or other, seems to be responsible...Continue reading→

I am in the bathroom. It’s a busy morning and I’ve not had much sleep. I am 14 years old and it’s important to me to look good. My Mum bangs on the door, complaining that I am using too much time. I let her in and continue putting on my makeup. Mum takes off her work clothes after her shift at the cleaning company, changing into her uniform for her next job at the...Continue reading→

When the world outside has gone quiet Perhaps if I just lie here everything will be fine. Perhaps If I just lie here quietly, maybe just maybe, nothing will happen. Perhaps my mind will stop spinning endlessly, perhaps I can trick my mind; my racing thoughts, that I am still sleeping. Perhaps my body will relax and not be so stressed. The world demands so much from me. To be and to act like everyone...Continue reading→

I was 20 when my mother had a brain stoke while riding her bicycle, broke her hip and was blood transfused, during an orthopaedic surgery,  with infected blood. She got Hepatitis C, which was the cause of her death, 19 years after the day of the brain stroke. I was informed about the stroke while phoning home from a public telephone (there were no mob phones at that time) to tell my parents that I...Continue reading→

When my mother’s relatively routine spinal surgery went wrong nearly seventeen years ago, leaving her in chronic pain and unable to work, my brother gave up his life as he knew it. We call him “the sacrificial lamb.” Like Jesus Christ before him, my older brother laid down his entire life at the feet of the people he loves. At 18 years old, my brother was entering his sophomore year in college. He was doing...Continue reading→

My name is Amy and I am fifteen years old. I’m sat on the floor in my room trying to revise for my exams which are next week. Suddenly I hear my mum calling from the bathroom. I wiggle open the old lock on the door and find her sat on the floor feeling a bit unwell and a little upset. I think quickly about what would make me feel better in her situation and...Continue reading→

When I was a teenager I kept myself back in order to let my parents devote their energy to my sister and not to me. That’s why I had sometimes the feeling that I could not fulfill myself and that I had not enough room. Even when her screams would get me mad I did not say anything even when her tears would expel me I remained silent. It is hard to complain about our...Continue reading→