Forces Children Scotland is excited to host a conversation about young carers from armed forces communities in line with Young Carers Action Day on the 13th of March. This year, the theme ‘Give me a break’ stresses the important need for young carers to have time to rest and recharge, while also calling on schools and employers to provide better support, helping them balance their responsibilities and achieve their full potential.
A young carer can be anyone, aged 25 and under, who cares for a friend or family member who, due to illness, a disability, a mental health problem, or an addiction, cannot cope without their support. The role of a young carer can vary considerably. It can include physical and personal care, help with practical tasks, providing emotional support, managing prescriptions and administering medicine, looking after siblings and much more.
Young Carers in Armed Forces Families – In Scotland, over 13,000 children have a parent in the armed forces or who is a veteran. Some of these will have permanent caring responsibilities for loved ones whereas some may take on temporary caring responsibilities when a parent is deployed. Young people from forces families are less likely to identified as young carers, and as a result may receive less support than young carers from civilian families. The challenges of being a young carer are amplified in armed forces families, where moves and deployments can change the carer’s role unexpectedly. They may suddenly become a young carer if their parent is injured in service.
“It’s hard being a young carer.”
Over 80% of children and young people from armed forces communities who have engaged with Forces Children Scotland have told the charity that have faced unique challenges to mental health and wellbeing.
In this session we are delighted to introduce Linda Littler, who works for The Nexus Project. Nexus is a three-year project funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust. The project aims to improve support, resources and access to services for young carers within armed forces families. Linda will be sharing details on the project and strategies to help support young carers within an armed forces context. We will also hear from our Participation Manager Nina Collins and our Learning and Development worker Judith Blair who will address some of the key issues surrounding young carers from an armed forces background in Scotland. Finally, we will take time to reflect and discuss the parliamentary debate and discuss ways in which this community can be supported in the future.
The event is organised in a conversational style where the Chair will engage our speakers in a dialogue to delve into the main issues surrounding young carers within the armed forces community. The audience will then have the opportunity to contribute their views and experiences and pose questions to the speakers.
This free event is for anyone working with young carers from an armed forces background across the U.K. Please share with colleagues and other partner organisations that may wish to attend.
Please note that this event will take place on Microsoft Teams and will not be recorded.