What is a young adult carer?

A young adult carer is someone aged 16-21 who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who has an illness, disability, mental health problem or addiction.

Some caring roles are big, others small.  Either way, we’re here to help.  

We know that friendship, support and trying new things can provide the boost that you need, so we split our work into three areas:  

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• We provide 1-2-1 support, tailored around your needs – whether educational, emotional or something else

• We organise a mixture of fun activities throughout the year

• We run a monthly young adult carers group

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Managing at home

Cooking, cleaning, getting around – managing day-to-day can be hard enough, but harder when you’re helping someone besides yourself. We’ll help you build the basic skills that make life easier.

Education and Career

What do you want to do when you’re older? It’s often a hard question to answer, and we know that being a carer can make education difficult. We can help you think it through, and support you through the steps to get there.

Managing stress

Our minds are like cars. If we don’t keep them oiled and looked after, they make loud noises that can make us go arggh! We’re always here to listen, and can help you build strategies to manage stress.

Relationships

Relationships with family members and friends can be an enormous sense of comfort, but also a cause of stress. This can be more complicated when you are a carer. We’ll help you think about your relationships, and think about how to put support in place.

Money worries

Can finances be a problem? Maybe you worry about money or you aren't able to buy essential things. We can help you think about how to better manage your cash, and help you gain access to grants and bursaries.

Having fun

Caring can take up a lot of time - whether you’re helping or just thinking about the person you care for. Our varied programme of activities lets you let loose and have fun with people that understand the pressures you face.

Confidence

Caring for the person that you love can be hard.  It takes a certain type of knowledge – and that isn’t necessarily something you’re taught in school. We’ll make sure you’re equipped with the skills to care with confidence.

Staying healthy

There’s more to a healthy mind than just a healthy body, but it certainly helps! Better physical health mean clearer thoughts and a more positive outlook. We’ll help you put realistic targets in place to become more active.

One to one support

We are always on hand to provide 1-2-1 support. But this isn’t based on what we think you need - it’s based around you. We’ll listen carefully to help you to set objectives for the sessions – whether they’re based around education; financial support; or relationships - and we’ll help you meet them.

Peer Support

Every month, there is a young adult carers group, where we relax, eat and do fun activities. More than anything, this is a chance for you to hang out with others who share the pressures that you face.

First Aid Training

Join one our regular first aid courses delivered by British Red Cross or find out about other courses available to you across the borough. 

Information

There’s a lot of support on offer in Lambeth, but these things can be difficult to find.  We’re here to fill those gaps. We provide information on training courses, local services and other opportunities within the borough.

Social activities

We run a varied programme of fun activities throughout the year. With events from go-karting and seaside trips, to workshops in photography and activism, there’s sure to be something that gets you excited – come along! 

Celebration event

Once each year, young adult carers create a rich mix of original artwork, which is exhibited in a Lambeth gallery. A platform to shout about the difficulties, barriers but also opportunities faced by young adult carers.