Click on the title to download the available materials:
A GUIDE TO SUPPORTING YOUNG CARERS
GUIDANCE REPORT BASED ON THE OUTCOMES OF EPYC PILOTING IN FIVE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
This report is also available in
German
Italian
The “Informationsbroschüre zum Thema Young Carers – Kinder und Jugendliche als pflegende Angehörige” (Information booklet on young carers).
This booklet (or brochure) of 30 pages is directed primarily to professionals working in social and youth contexts or care professionals.
It shall help them
• to identify young carers,
• to get a better knowledge and sensitivity for their situation and possible special needs,
• to get some hints on how to raise the issue with the young people and their families,
• and to develop ideas on what kind of help they could offer themselves directly or recommend to the young person and his/her family.
Unterrichtsmaterialien und didaktische Anleitungen
The “Unterrichtsmaterialien und didaktische Anleitungen” (Training material and methods) is a booklet of about 25 pages. It contains a detailed description of three lessons or modules that can be embedded in vocational training and further training concepts for the above mentioned professions.
The three themes are:
• Introduction in different roles in a caring setting, involving young carers (sketch of a role play)
• Young carers seen in the own professional context/setting (case examples to be discussed in small groups)
• How to identify and support young carers (work with the “Informationsbroschüre” and information from orter sources)
The two resources can also be downloaded (only in German) on the ARC homepage: http://www.roteskreuz.at/pflege-betreuung/projekte/
Kinder und Jugendliche als pflegende Angehörige
Diakonisches Werk Berlin Stadtmitte e.V. also created a practical handbook targeting professionals in the health and care sector. It provides a set of tools that can be used to identify young carers, work with them and help them to identify themselves. The handbook also provides valuable background knowledge for professionals wanting to know more about young carers. It includes articles and recommendations from experts in the fields of medicine, care services and hospitals.
Kinder und Jugendliche aus krankheitsbelasteten Familien
The german partner Diakonisches Werk Berlin Stadtmitte e.V. created a practical handbook that targets professionals in the education and youth sector. It provides a set of tools that can be used to identify young carers, work with them in a counseling setting and help them to identify themselves. The handbook also provides valuable background knowledge for professionals wanting to know more about young carers.
Young Carers in Ireland – Leaflet
This leaflet has been written for youth leaders who have not had any specific training about young carers or the circumstances in which they find themselves. The leaflet has purposely been kept simple and straight forward with only overview information and points leaders to other resources where they will find more detailed and complete supports.
Young Carers in Ireland – Poster
This poster has been designed to direct youth leaders to materials and agencies that will allow them to better support any young carers they may identify in their groups. The poster has been kept simple and straight forward to allow those who have no particular training or experience to gain the right information in an easy and straightforward way.
Engaging with Young Carers: A Virtuous Circle
This report outlines a snapshot of the experience of young and young adult carers in accessing supports and services in Ireland.
Anziani e non solo
Volantino Giovani Caregiver
This resource has been developed gathering inspiration and inputs from different material collected by partners. The main goals were creating a tool usable and understandable both by young carers themselves and by professionals who could potentially meet them or their parents / siblings and helping identification but also providing information for concrete help and support at local level. The procedure to develop the leaflet included the consultation with different young people to gather their comments and several revisions made by the Italian EPYC network.
La mia vita adesso
The tool is a direct translation / adaptation of Mylife Now Wheel developed by Carers Trust. ANS has piloted it with YCs who are participating to our YCs group, using it during the initial individual interview as a tool to get to know the YC and to assess his/her needs. We intend to use it again at the end of the workshop as a tool to measure progresses / improvements possibly connected with the participation to our group.
During a photo lab held by Anziani e non solo in Carpi (Italy), a group made up of young carers scripted, directed and produced a short video titled “Essere un giovane caregiver” (Being a young carer).
Versari Macrelli
LETTER
On December the 12th 2016 we organised the Carer’s Day within our school. Its aim was to make students and teachers more aware about the opportunities offered by our project to carers. On that occasion we gave to every teacher a letter (together with a heart shaped chocolate), in which we explained everything about the project and we presented our work group. We delivered about 150 copies.
POSTER
We started from the idea that most of carers are not conscious of their needs, since they often consider their daily work within the family as taken for granted. They think they don’t do anything special. That’s why we decided to publicize the carer role by a poster we prepared. We hung a poster in each classroom after a short oral presentation of the project. Our purpose was both to sensitise and to help young carers to come to light.
FLYER
We prepared a flyer whose purposes were both to supply with information about the project and to invite supposed carer students to contact us. We went to every classroom to talk about this initiative, leaving some leaflets for hypothetical carers. We also left some in the teachers’ room of our two premises (about 200 copies totally). In the flyer there was a form addressed to carers: they should have filled it in and sent it to us, in order to allow us to organise a personal interview. To make the delivery more confidential, we arranged a specific mailbox in a quiet and isolated area of the school (both in our headquarters and in our separate school premises).
PDP
This acronym stands for a personalised learning plan template. It’s a specific form, which we fill in after an interview with each young carer, made by some members of our work group. Once filled out, we present it to the board of teachers of the student’s class. In this form we describe the student’s situation, his/her needs and we try to suggest some positive actions aimed at lighten his/her school work, considering the family requirements and the student’s real available time management.
We made a short video for the “International Conference on young carers” in Malmö. It is a very short but quite touching presentation, made of selected pictures taken by young carers. It’ s a kind of photographic contest on the carers mood and situation.
2. Interactive version Checklist form – Going Higher Award
The Going Higher for Student Carers: Recognition Award aims to make it easier for higher education institutions in Scotland to support student carers and reward good practice. This award incentivises and encourages universities to adopt a sustainable, whole institution approach to Identify, Support and Report on student carers.
Key features of the Recognition Award:
• No cost to apply and complete.
• Direct support from Carers Trust Scotland.
• Clear guidance to develop student carer support.
• Raising awareness of students with a caring role.
• Encourages partnerships.
• Recognises good practice.
By coming on this journey with us, higher education institutions will send a positive message to student carers that they are recognised, supported and will be given a fair chance to be successful in their institution. They will also make it clear to other institutions and to the wider student body that inclusivity and fairness is at the heart of its institution.