"Wow! It’s been a busy few weeks for the Young Carers Team at The Junction Foundation!
It’s been wonderful to finally get out and about again on face-face sessions with our young carers: posing for photoshoots, playing in the park, making friends and just having fun!
But… there’s more!
Carers Week
We launched our Young Carer Stories Poster Campaign, delivering Young Carer Stories to 69 venues across Middlesbrough. Our Young Carers wanted to raise awareness by telling their own stories in the hope that other young carers would know there is help available and to come forward for support. We also believe that this powerful campaign will encourage the GP surgeries, pharmacies and schools in receipt of the posters, to refer young carers so that they can access support and help for themselves and their families.
Six posters showcasing local young carers experiences have been produced. Download and read all six stories.
So, who’s displaying our Young Carer Stories?
- 15 GP surgeries
- 8 Pharmacies
- 11 Secondary Schools
- 32 Primary Schools
- 3 Libraries
Co-production and collaboration
Our young carers participated in the project from the offset, writing their stories, contributing ideas for the images and taking part in a photoshoot on the wettest Tuesday evening of May! While everyone else was inside hiding from the storm, our young carers battled on, got creative, and with the help of our wonderful photographer, Lee Thirkellson Photography, and came up with some amazingly powerful images.
Next, three Redcar College Design students stepped up to the challenge and came up with some fantastic ideas for the posters and our Young Carers chose a design to go to print. Nearly there…
Finally, it was time to get the message out there! During Carers Week it was a race against the clock to deliver all the posters to the 69 venues we targeted. All the people we spoke to were very positive about the campaign and agreed to display the posters; many very impressed by the posters and more than willing to display.
Campaign impact
We are already receiving referrals from schools that have not used our service before, which means more young carers will be getting the support they deserve.
We are so proud of the hard work our carers put into this project. Their message is now out and we are looking forward to spreading the message further across the region in the coming months.
This was an amazing project to be part of just landing in my role as Development Worker in Schools in April. I am looking forward to building links with more schools and supporting them to achieve the Young Carers in Schools Award.
What’s Next? Passports and PowerPoints!!
Again, with the help of our Young Carers, we are producing a training pack for schools to deliver in assemblies and as part of Continuing Professional Development for staff.
We also plan to develop a Young Carer Passport (sample left of text) to enable young carers to quickly access support when required at school, without having to retell their story. Watch this space!!"
Simone Shaw - Young Carers in Schools Development Worker
For further information,contact Simone by phone: 07721128729 or email: simone.shaw@thejunctionfoundation.com
