A base for young carers to meet and support eachother is set to be lost unless a new home can be found.
Charity Carers Bucks is appealing for help in finding a new home for its young carers service as the free lease is ending on its current premises in Aylesbury.
Unless it finds another free space or the funds to rent somewhere, Young Carers’ meetings will have to take place in coffee shops and other public spaces – not ideal for conversations about sensitive subjects and group-based activities.
Sally Mansi, head of Young Carers Bucks, which supports 600 youngsters aged 6-18 who look after poorly family members, said: “Having their own zone is crucial to the Young Carers and the staff who support them – we can hold workshops, activities and private one-to-one meetings at times to suit the young people.
“Young carers need a warm, welcoming, safe environment that will enable them to talk about issues that any adult would struggle with. These are things such as ‘how do I help my mum when her drinking and depression makes her cry all day?’ or ‘ my dad is going to die, what will happen to me?
“Sharing feelings can be tough but the individual and group work delivered by our staff team means that young carers discover that they are not alone and that other children have to cope with similar difficulties, not just at home but with bullying at school and feeling scared and anxious.
“These conversations are extremely hard to have in a coffee shop or a church hall.
“Young carers need and deserve a space of their own.”
{http://www.carersbucks.org/ownzone|For more information about the Young Carers Own Zone campaign and to donate, log onto Carers Bucks website|link to external site}