Wally Worrywart – He’s a young carer who helps to look after his grandma who has Alzheimer Disease. Wally helps his grandma to remember things. He also helps her to get her groceries, find her purse, and wash her dishes. Wally crashes all the time because he takes his worries everywhere with him. If you’re a young carer and you’ve got too much to worry about, and you get all stressed out, it’s time to get help! Here’s some useful links for you:
http://www.youngcarers.net (This web site is from England but it has good information for Canadian young carers, plus a young carers chat room).
Meet Nukilik -- the mascot of the Young Carers Initiative
Meet Nukilik, our new polar bear mascot!
Nukilik is an Inuit word for strong, and we thought this would be
an appropriate name for our polar bear, for what could be stronger?
Polar bears, who manage to survive in the harsh climate of northern Canada, also evoke images of independence, endurance and resilience. The programs offered by the Young Carers Initiative and its partners aim to promote these qualities in our young carers. Like polar bears, young carers need to develop the strength to cope with what often can be a stressful environment as well as other challenging realities of life.
The Young Carers Initiative would not exist without its community partners or "building blocks." From the beginning, our network of community partners has been an integral part of who we are. With the foundation provided by our "building blocks" we've managed to provide programs for young carers on a shoestring budget by sharing scarce human, financial and material resources.
The first of its kind in Canada - Designed to provide services to meet the needs of young carers.
What is the Powerhouse Project?
An inter-agency holistic strategy aimed at meeting the needs of young crers and their families by:
Developing social, leisure, educational and employment opportunities
Raising awareness about issues facing young carers
Ensuring a long term strategic response
Developing "best practices"
Why is it called the Powerhouse Project?
A powerhouse is a place or thing with great energy and power. Our Powerhouses will be places where young carers and their families can gain the information, skills, and support they need to be empowered.
Where will the Powerhouses be located?
There will be two powerhouses. One will be located at Port Cares in Port Colborne, and the other will be located at the Alzheimer Society of Haldimand-Norfolk in Hagersville. The one at Port Cares will offer services to young carers in the Niagara Region, while the one in Hagersville will cover Haldimand-Norfolk.
Each Powerhouse will have two main functions - A Drop-in/Program Centre for young carers and Resource Services:
Powerhouse Drop-in/Program: The Powerhouses will be modelled on young carer projects in Britain and will address a range of identified young carer needs and strengths, including:
Information and education for young carers
Skill development (cooking circles, household management, practical aspects of giving care)
Social/recreational activities so they can get together with other young carers and have fun, just be kids, support each other.
Homework assistance/liaison with schools
Referrals to other child/youth agencies as needed
On-the-road programs
An advisory group of young carers to give them a voice, a chance to be heard
Advocacy
Powerhouse Resource Services: Resource Services will have a mandate to raise public awareness including:
Library services: Provide research materials, journal articles, books and other sources on young carers for interested people in the community
Disseminate information about young carers, including brochures, fact sheets, handbooks and workshops.
Provide staff training for professionals in the community care field with an interest in young carers and their needs
Act as an intake/referral centre
How will the Powerhouses be funded?
Funding is coming from Ontario's Aging at Home Strategy through the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) of Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand Brant. The funding will flow through the Alzheimer Society of Haldimand-Norfolk, the bankers for the project.
Why the Aging at Home Strategy?
This provincial strategy is targeted at keeping seniors and the frail elderly in their own homes as long as possible. The Powerhouse Project will provide support for young people 18 years old and younger who are in a caring role for a relative such as a grandfather who needs assistance in his activities of daily living. The idea is that caregiving is a family event. Providing support for our youngest family caregivers will enhance the well-being of the family unit and help to keep grandpa living in the community.
Who are your partners (building blocks)?
This project would not have happened without the continuing support of our community partners:
Young carers say they need to know about a lot of things. They need information about the disability or illness that's affecting their family member. They need to know what to do in an emergency. They need to learn some coping strategies – how to let off steam and chill out when they get stressed out. They need to know where to go for help with their school work. They need to know what community services are available to help their family, as well as how to contact these services. Sometimes they need an adult outside of the family who understands what they're doing on a day-to-day basis. Sometimes they just need someone who will listen.
Recognition
Young carers say that nobody knows what they do to help out their families. Their teachers usually don't know. The school youth counsellors don't know. And many community workers who come into their homes often don't notice that there are kids in the family who are caregivers.
Often even other family members such as aunts and uncles don't notice. Young carers say it would be so much easier if their work was recognized. Too often, they say, they feel isolated and alone, as if no one outside of their immediate family cares. A little praise and understanding for their work would do a lot to make them feel recognized, and not so "invisible."
Support
Young Carers say they need support or help with their caring role. They would like some respite care for their relative so they could have time off. Support groups with their peers (other young carers) are also good so they can share experiences, learn from others in similar situations and talk about their feelings with others who understand. Counselling and advice also top the list of needs identified by young carers themselves.
Carers need to be able hang out together and have some fun. The Young Carers Initiative (YCI) has offered a variety of programs for young carers in Niagara by partnering with other community agencies. The pictures above show young carers chilling out with horses at a summer camp sponsored by Horse Alternative Therapeutic Services (H.A.T.S.) and the Niagara Community Foundation.
Do you assist a member of your family who needs help because of a disability or illness? The family member could be a parent, a grandparent, a brother or sister, an aunt, uncle. cousin, or even a close family friend.
Your relative could have a problem with drugs or alcohol, and this means you have to pitch in and do a lot of housework, or even look after your siblings.
Or perhaps your parents came to Canada from another country, and can't speak either English or French. This means you have to be a translator for your parents, perhaps at the doctor's office, or bank or shopping plaza. You might find this to be a bit stressful at times.
Young carers are kids who are 18 years old or younger who help out their families in many ways. They cook, do housework, baby-sit, run errands, do yard work, and even pay bills. They often help their relatives walk, get dressed, eat their meals, and may even give them their medicine. In some cases young carers provide emotional support. They comfort their family members and try to make them feel better. There are many young carers in Canada and around the world. Most of them say being a caregiver at a very young age is a great experience, but sometimes it would be good to just "chill out" and be a kid.
Nukilik is an Inuit word for strong, and we thought this would be
The Young Carers Initiative would not exist without its community partners or "building blocks." From the beginning, our network of community partners has been an integral part of who we are. With the foundation provided by our "building blocks" we've managed to provide programs for young carers on a shoestring budget by sharing scarce human, financial and material resources.
