EyPIC in the Media

Our EyPIC project and Young Carers have been in the media a few times over the years, and we thought it might be nice to to let you see what has been seen and said about us.

With 17% of young carers aged 16-17 helping with financial matters in the home, financial education is more important than ever.

One of our Young Carers, Cavari (mistakenly named Amari by Create), was interviewed by Create earlier this year after he attended the change:matters project in Enfield.

change:matters is the project supporting young carers by enhancing their financial literacy using creative artforms. In partnership with Chickenshed, an inclusive theatre company, drama workshops were run to explore the emotional impact that debt and poor money management can have.

He said: “During change:matters we learnt about money and budgeting. We did this through drama workshops with Create and Chickenshed. In the workshops we were learning about money by acting out what people being in debt felt like, and what happens when the bailiffs come.”

Read more and see the video at https://createarts.org.uk/meet-amari/

Two of our EyPIC young carers, Jessica and Deborah, were interviewed by Carers UK as part of their ‘Getting Active’ campaign, about how being active helps them in their caring role.

Please do take a look, and if you are registered with us, why not try The Kindness Club for yourself?

Jessica’s individual story video:

Compilation video (featuring four different stories including Jessica’s):

Carers Trust was delighted to arrange a visit by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, to St John and St James C of E Primary School to meet young carers.

The visit was just two days before Young Carers Action Day, an annual event led and organised by Carers Trust to raise public awareness of young carers and young adult carers, the challenges they face as a result of their caring role and the need for more support.

The Commissioner was also able to hear from the school’s young carer lead and the Young Carers Manager at Enfield Carers Centre. ECC are network partner of Carers Trust.

Two of the school’s young carers provided a tour of the school, before a special Young Carers assembly for pupils which led to a pupil identifying themselves as a young carer as a result of the assembly . Another young carer shared some of the top tips that their young carers group had come up with.

The commissioner met with the school’s young carer lead, the young carers service manager from Enfield Carers and Carers Trust’s Policy and Practice Manager for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers, to discuss a series of issues relating to young carers and education.

These ranged from the need to improve identification and awareness of young carers – including with trainee teachers – to the role Ofsted can play in ensuring young carers are identified and supported within education. The need for other professionals, such as GPs, to help to identify young carers was also discussed.

The Commissioner finished her visit by meeting a group of young carers from the school to hear about their experiences. The young people talked about the need for more awareness about young carers and more special provision for their siblings, highlighting the positive impact that would have for their parents, siblings and themselves. The young carers also said how important young carers clubs are to give them a break from their caring responsibilities.

See some reactions on social media, below.

YC Childrens Commissioner tweet Andy McGowan

YC Childrens Commissioner tweet Rachel de Souza

Earlier this year, a group of our young carers took part in a spoken word workshop with Write2Speak.

They wrote about being young carers and around the theme for Young Carers Action Day 2023: Make Time for Young Carers.

Hear from our young carers here: https://carers.org/young-carers-action-day-2023/enfield-carers-x-write2speak

Young Carers from 6 different Carers Centres, including Rosie from Enfield Carers Centre, have come together to create a video raising awareness for Young Carers Action Day by reading the Late Crew!

There are some additional materials that you can use with this video – a ‘Create Your Own Alien To Help Young Carers’ activity, and a written version of the extracts of the story used in the video.

Check it out on YouTube