Author: mike

Meet Isabel, a young carer

In April 2022, young carers from Sefton in Merseyside took part in three days of circus workshops with Create artist Mimosa Percy.

The project enabled them to take a break from their caring responsibilities, have fun, learn new skills, build relationships and express themselves. It was delivered in partnership with Sefton Carers as part of our inspired:arts programme.

We spoke to young carer Isabel (10) about her time on the project.

“Being creative with other people, you try new things. If no one else was here with me I’m sure I’d stick with one item.”

Isabel, A Young Carer

“I care for my mum. She’s blind. When she’s crossing the road, she can’t see the cars coming, so I have to help her across. It’s really hard because if we get hurt it’s kind of my fault. I’ve always cared for my mum. When she has to have tablets, I have to cut them for her, and help her with the cooking.

“Sometimes in science when we’re talking about hearing and eyesight I do get a little bit upset, but I’m kind of used to it. In school a lot of people joke about ‘he’s blind, she’s blind’, and I’m like: ‘Don’t joke about it because imagine if it was actually real.’”

Going to the circus

“I took part in a circus project where [Create] brought in equipment to do tricks with, and acrobatics. I used the spinning plates, diablo, hoops, juggling balls, skipping ropes and stilts. My favourite was the plate spinning.

“With a friend I made this routine with spinning plates and juggling balls. We’ve added a story into it. There are two friends and the moral is that if you’re kind to other people, people will want to help you and you’ll get better at things. But if you’re mean, people won’t really want to help you.

“Before I did the circus workshops I was a bit scared I would do something wrong. But now I know it doesn’t matter if I get it wrong because other people may not be able to do it as well.

“It was really fun working with the others. I’m really happy that I came here because normally I just sit on technology. Now I’ve come here, if somebody says: ‘Do you want to do something?’ I’d probably say ‘yes’.

“Until you try something you don’t know whether you like it or not. I’ve learnt that some things I’m not good at, and other things I am, so I’m going to keep on learning to get better at them. Being creative with other people, you try new things. If no one else was here with me I’m sure I’d stick with one item.

“Projects like this help young carers mix with other people. If they’re looking after their parents or brothers or sisters all the time they might not have enough time to talk to other people unless it’s school.”

This project was funded by The Forrester Family Trust and The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund

Young carers Action Day 2022: Meet Isla

During February 2022, our professional artist Beth Coleman led dance workshops with young carers in Scotland as part of our Young Carers Action Day (YCAD) programme, which culminated in an online showcase on 16 March.

This year’s theme for YCAD is “taking action on isolation”. In a survey of young and young adult carers by Carers Trust, 33% of respondents said their caring role resulted in them either ‘always’ or ‘usually’ feeling lonely.

The Create workshops, part of our award-winning inspired:arts programme, were specifically designed to tackle these feelings of isolation by giving young carers the chance to develop their creative and social skills, build their confidence, meet other young carers, and express themselves.

Young carer Isla (13), who cares for her older sister, shared her experience.

Meet Isla

“I really enjoyed being able to choreograph my own dance and teach it to someone, and coming together as one big group to learn everyone’s moves.”

Isla (13), Young carer

“I mostly care for my older sister who is disabled, but I also care for my grandparents and my aunt who is currently on crutches due to a broken leg. I’ve been a carer my whole life. I always grew up with my grandparents and my older sister so I’ve always just done it.

“My sister only has one vocal cord so her voice is unusual and her words tend to get mixed up. She has trouble speaking and expressing her emotions a lot. She struggles to communicate that something is wrong, or that she doesn’t feel comfortable. She also has trouble breathing, she has either a lung or a heart disease, I can’t remember. She has this tube to help her breathe. We can usually tell if she’s having trouble breathing because her eyes will actually turn a different colour, from green to blue.

Above: watch the young carers perform their dance routine for Young Carers Action Day 2022

“The workshops taught me everyone is unique”

“In today’s workshop we had to choreograph something by ourselves and then put it in one big dance so it all lines up. We all worked separately or in small groups, and once we were done with our dance, we all came together and combined it as one big dance.

“You had to piece things together to make sure they fit. It was really fun but it was also a bit awkward because some people could do things that others couldn’t, so you would have to try and do the move or switch it a bit. The workshops taught me that everyone is unique, everyone has their own styles and type of ways their body moves.

“I really enjoyed being able to choreograph my own dance and teach it to someone, and coming together as one big group to learn everyone’s moves. It felt really good when we completed the dance and did our first rehearsal, it felt like we were all in sync and we enjoyed it.

Coming back to earth

“If you’re younger, you might have more time for creativity but now I’m older I get less time to be creative. High school can get stressful so you don’t really have time to chill out and be a bit loose.

“My lifestyle is very different to those who don’t have caring responsibilities. Sometimes at home it can get really stressful, for example if something happens before school, I could then go into school and that could affect my learning. But it doesn’t happen all the time.

“Projects like these help young carers because if they’re having a really stressful day they can find their way back to earth again and get back into that circle of where they first were.”

This project was delivered in partnership with Carers Trust.

Young Carers Action Day 2022: Meet Esme

During February 2022, our professional artist Adele Watts led photography workshops with young carers in Surrey as part of our Young Carers Action Day (YCAD) programme, which culminated in an online showcase on 16 March.

This year’s theme for YCAD is “taking action on isolation”. In a survey of young and young adult carers by Carers Trust, at least a third of respondents said their caring role resulted in them either ‘always’ or ‘usually’ feeling ‘worried’ (36%), ‘lonely’ (33%) or ‘stressed’ (42%).

The Create workshops, part of our award-winning inspired:arts programme, were specifically designed to tackle these feelings of isolation by giving young carers the chance to develop their creative and social skills, build their confidence, meet other young carers, and express themselves.

Young carer Esme talked to us about her experiences.

Meet Esme

“These projects help me not to focus on stuff that’s happening at home. It makes me feel free from all the responsibility. It also helps me escape reality.”

Esme, Young Carer

“I care for my mum because she has mental health issues. When I was younger she used to have really bad mental health. She shouted, screamed, cried a lot and used to throw stuff. Not glass but plastic stuff or pillows, she used to throw them across the room and get really emotional really fast. But now she’s gotten a lot better, she doesn’t cry as much. She still does get angry and shouts quite a lot.

“I think I was a toddler when she started having these problems, because I remember being downstairs in our old house and I could hear my mum and dad fighting. I was confused about what was going on. We used to go up to my nan’s a lot when my parents would fight. They’d make lunch for us until things quietened down, and then we could go home.

“Being creative with other people is great because they help you see different things”

“At the Create project today, the subject was wellbeing, and we were taking photos of things that made us feel calm and nice. We had a look outside and took some pictures of herons and birds and plants and loads of trees, wildlife and ducks. Some people took pictures of dogs. Some people did illusions where it looked like you were holding something and it looked bigger.

“I’ve enjoyed making new friends, having fun and taking pictures. The project made me feel happy. At first I was nervous because I didn’t know everyone, and then I started getting the hang of it and it was really fun. Being creative with other people is great because they can help you see different things. If you don’t see a cool photo to take, they can help you see it.

Above: watch a slideshow of the images taken by the young carers from Surrey, set to music written and performed by young carers from Wales

“Some people put raindrops on their pictures, so you know they’re feeling sad”

“I learnt a lot about myself on the project. I’ve learnt that I really like taking photos, and also that I’m really good at making friends. People tell me that, but I didn’t think it was true, I thought I chatted them to death. But I realised I don’t actually do that, we just talk and then realise we like the same stuff and we both have the same feelings.

“I get the chance to be creative after school quite a lot. Sometimes I’ll search up images to draw or paint. I used to do lots of painting and I painted this girl with blue and green strands of hair, it was really cool.

“I think it’s important to get the chance to be creative because you can express your feelings in just one picture. Some people put raindrops on their pictures, so you know they’re outside or they’re feeling really sad. Sometimes they have thunderclouds, or the sun if they’re feeling happy, or lightning if they’re feeling worried. I think lightning and thunder can really show how they’re feeling. When it’s thundering and lightning outside the sky has got its emotions out.

“I have skills that other young people might not have”

“Being a young carer can affect my schoolwork. My brother usually helps me with maths but he’s at college most of the time, so I struggle. However, as a young carer, I have skills that other young people might not have. I can rush about faster and if my mum needs me to do something she can’t do, then I just do it straight away. My mum also has a bad lung so she gets out of breath easily, just going up the stairs. We often have to get her a glass of water or something to eat.

“I don’t really think about the future because I’m focusing on the present. You don’t know what’s going to come the next day. My mum says she’s fine, but I know she’s not because she can’t breathe most of the time going up the stairs. These projects help me not to focus on stuff that’s happening at home. It makes me feel free from all the responsibility. It also helps me escape reality. It’s like reading, when you doze off in a nice read.”

This project was delivered in partnership with Carers Trust.