Young Carers Action Day comes to Colchester’s Jungle Adventure with 60 Young Carers taking part in our BIG SLEEPOVER!
#YoungCarersActionDay is an annual campaign organised by our network partner Carers Trust. It aims to highlight the challenges faced by the UK’s one million young carers (under-18s) and the hundreds of thousands of young adult carers aged 18-25. There’s an estimated 12,000 Young Carers in Essex alone.
This year the theme of Young Carers Action Day is “Give Me A Break”. Action for Family Carers has proudly been supporting unpaid carers in Essex for over 30 years. Our Young Carer Clubs aim to give Young Carers a few hours of regular respite, welcoming Carers aged 5-16 years old. The clubs give them a break from caring in a safe environment, they can take part in fun activities, meet other children in a similar situation and make new friends. They crucially offer an opportunity for Young Carers to talk with a trusted staff member in a safe and confidential environment too.
To help celebrate Young Carers Action Day our Northeast Essex clubs (Harwich, Clacton & Colchester) hosted the Big Sleepover at Jungle Adventures where Young Carers came together to spend the night playing games and making friends. Sleepovers are a very rare opportunity for young carers as often they can’t be away from their cared-for overnight.
A recent Carers Trust survey found that 72% of young carers said they miss out on the holidays because they provide care, many also felt they were shut out of a lot of the things most other children get to do. Nearly half miss out on friendships, and 46% on hobbies.
Jo our Young Carer Service Manager says “Our Young Carer Clubs are needed now more than ever, seeing the friendships being made and the confidence grow in the Young People we work with is immeasurable. We’re committed to providing these breaks and special occasions beyond Young Carers Action Day and welcome support from other local businesses and organisations, like Jungle Adventure, in helping us keep the clubs running!”
This year, we need to raise £70,000 to keep the clubs running. If you or your organisation can donate to support your local club, please head to our donation page now or speak to our team info@affc.org.uk
“I’m so proud of myself for staying. It was fun” Lucas, aged 14
“It was really fun and exciting. I loved that we could play about basically whenever we wanted and we got to make a bunch of new friends” Sophie, aged 12
