Plymouth Young Carers

Community Youth Event - Young Carers Promotional Image

We are currently renovating the building where the Plymouth Young Cares sessions usually take place.

Therefore, sessions will be temporarily relocated to Burrington Community Hub, Honicknowle Lane, Honicknowle, Plymouth, PL5 3NE.

Please do not attend the Honicknowle Youth and Community Centre.

The Community Youth Team provides a city-wide support programme for young carers aged between 8 and 18 years old (or up to 25 if you have additional needs).

A young carer is an individual child or young person under the age of 18 who provides unpaid help and support regularly to a family member, friend, or relative. They may provide practical help, care, and physical or emotional support to a person who is vulnerable for a wide variety of reasons, whether through age, physical or mental illness, disability, or other issues such as problematic substance use.

The Young Carers team offers weekly sessions designed to enable young carers to socialise with other like-minded young people, have somewhere to go, and someone to talk to whilst engaging in positive, fun, and creative activities. The programme provides long-term support to help young carers deal with the issues that impact their everyday lives and through key developmental milestones.

The service also offers one-to-one support to young carers who find it difficult to socialise in a large group or would benefit from a more targeted approach to support their emotional and mental wellbeing.

Building a supportive network and attending groups with like-minded young carers can have many benefits for a young person's mental and emotional wellbeing. By increasing socialisation and reducing isolation, we provide the opportunity for young carers to receive vital face-to-face emotional support and guidance from qualified youth workers. Young carers often miss out on key elements of their childhood due to their caring responsibilities, so we endeavour to recreate these missed opportunities and provide respite with trips to places they may not be able to visit with their own family. This can result in improved resilience, increased self-esteem, and enhanced coping and communication skills, all of which are critical within the role of a young carer.

Who can attend?

This is a referral-only service for young carers aged between 8 and 18 years old. To request a referral form, please email time4u@plymouth.gov.uk.

Location map

These sessions take place at the Honicknowle Youth and Community Centre, Honicknowle Green, Honicknowle, Plymouth, PL5 3PX.

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