Young Carers

ID cards

Thanks to all of you who fed back to us on this.  I have attached the results of our survey. You have told us that the card would increase confidence and give Young Carers the recognition they deserve.

However, in the hope of adding value to the card I have contacted pharmacies and GP’s asking for their support in ensuring the YC ID card will be recognised by their staff. I have not had as yet.

I have also working with Carers of East Lothian to see if we can encourage local businesses to offer discounts carers. This is an ongoing piece of work which we hope will develop further once the ID cards are up and running and Carers have a way of identifying themselves to businesses.

Finally, I am confident of securing some additional funding which will cover the cost of producing the cards, ensuring that our current budget is protected.

There is still work to be done with our SMART Card and IT teams to set up the whole process, but I will continue to update you on developments.

Download the Young Carers survey on ID cards

Foxlake

I approached Foxlake about the possibility of Young Carer discounts. They explained that they already operate a system whereby you can email them prior to making a booking and explain that you are a Young Carer. They will then provide you with a Carers Discount Code. Please note that this code can only be used for Carers, not other family and friends.

Merlin’s Magic Wand

The charity Merlin’s Magic Wand has provided us with 80 tickets to visit Edinburgh Dungeons. We will therefore be arranging two trips later in the year for those brave enough to join us!

Summer Programme

Over 140 of you requested places on our Summer Programme and I was delighted to be able to offer the majority of you 2 of your 3 chosen activities. I will be sending out activity specific information over the next few weeks so look out for that as it will include a further consent form for those taking part in Venturing Out activities. Those allocated Wilder Places need to book direct. Also, further to email last week Karele have 3 further dates available for Horse Care sessions.

Consent Forms

If you are intending to join us for activities at any point in 2024 please complete our annual consent form if you have not already done so or if your circumstances have changed.

Complete the annual consent form here

Carers Week

Next week is Carers Week, with Thursday 13 June dedicated to Young Carers. Hopefully,  the adult carers in your families are aware of the range of activities on offer from Carers of East Lothian Events from June 10 – June 12 (coel.org.uk) . Each day they are releasing a blog telling individual Carers Stories with one of our young carers telling their story on Thursday. Myself and 4 Young Carers are also joining services from across Scotland, Carers Trust Supporting Carers in Scotland | Carers Trust Scotland staff and key decision makers to “Put Young Carers on the Map”. We will be discussing;

How they were identified as a young carer- when, how and by who.

What difference has being identified as a young carer made to them

How do they think they could have been identified earlier.

Susan asked with a number of Young Carers from Ross High School these three questions and their responses have been passed on to Carers Trust for inclusion in a blog they will producing.

Careers Trust are also keen to Carers of all ages to help create a video for use during Carers Week and in the run up to the election. They are asking for a 30-45 second video, sent from your phone in which you share the challenges of being a care, what support would make a difference and would you ask the Prime Minister to do to help Carers.

Download the Carers Trust email instructions

Young Carers Forum

We continue to call on our Young Carers Forum to obtain their views on how the service is developing. We now have small but committed team of Young Carers attending these meetings which take place approximately once every school term. To thank them for their work and further develop their team building skills they are visiting an ESCAPE Room together in July. If you are over 12yrs and interested in getting involved next school session, please let me or your local worker know.

Helpful Videos

Carers Trust Media Ambassadors recently launched their 2023 film at Carers Parliament. The Media Ambassadors are a group of young carers, aged 16 to 18, who have taken part in filmmaking training over the summer and attended the festival to create films on issues important to them.

This year, the group have created 4 films around the themes of transitions, mental health support, financial support and greater awareness of who young carers are. The group have done a fantastic job.

• Financial Support for Young Carers
• Behind the Scenes
• Mental Health Support for Young Carers
• Transitions
• What is a Young Carer?

Scottish Young Carers Festival

This year sixteen Young Carers will be representing East Lothian at the SYCF on August 7 and 8.