500th Young Carer joins Spurgeons Young Carers Service in Wiltshire

Spurgeons Young Carers in Wiltshire (SYCW) has just passed the landmark of 500 young carers registered with the service.

SYCW provides young carers aged five-18 with activities and breaks during school holidays, regular monthly groups in term time, mentoring and much more.

Children’s services manager Rachel Stewart said, “Spurgeons young carers service is proud to have reached a tipping point with 500 young carers now registered to our service.

“With figures from the 2011 census showing that in Wiltshire there were an estimated 2042 young carers up to the age of 18, it is great to know that we are now fully recognised as the ‘go to’ service for young carers and their families.”

Spurgeons began running SYCW in July 2013 hosting a variety of groups for young carers to provide respite and to enable them to meet others in similar situations as well as offering signposting and support services to families. There is a bank of volunteer mentors who carry out six fortnightly one-to-one sessions with a young carer to help increase confidence and give them someone who will listen to them outside of their family.

A service user commented, “I feel like me and my family are able to talk about things and how it affects us without causing a huge argument, and we are listening to each other.”

Another parent said, “Thank you for all the activities my daughter has been involved in this year; she has really enjoyed her time meeting the other young carers and the team.”