Who is West Lothian Young Carer's Project?West Lothian Young Carers Project is part of the voluntary organisation Carers of West Lothian, which is a charity based at Strathbrock Partnership Centre, Broxburn. We work with young people, aged 8 to 18 who help to look after someone.
We work closely with West Lothian Social Policy, Community Learning and Development, Education and NHS Lothian. We are based within the Strathbrock Partnership Centre next to Carers of West Lothian. Are you a young carer?
You are a young
carer if you’re under the age of 18 and help to look after someone.
The person
you look after might have one or more of the following; a serious illness, a disability, learning difficulty, is elderly, have
mental health issues, a problem with drugs or alcohol. You may be looking after
someone in your family, like a parent, step-parent, grandparent, brother or
sister, but it could be someone else.Every young
carer’s situation is different, but the help you give could include things like
shopping, cooking, laundry, nursing care (such as giving medication or helping
someone get up and down stairs or in and out of bed), or helping them get
washed or dressed. You might be spending time sitting with someone for company,
or listening to their problems. |
You might also be looking after brothers and sisters because your
parents are not able to, or they might need help at certain times. You may be
the main carer, or you could be helping someone else to care.
While everyone is
different, lots of young carers have similar experiences and feelings.
Sometimes it helps to know that there are other young carers out there who may
think and feel the same way that you do. In fact, there are thousands of Young
Carers in Scotland (figures suggest there are more than 16,000). Local
figures collated from Big Lottery Scoping Exercise (October 06 to November 09)
What can West Lothian Young Carer's Project do for you?We
support, guide and advise young carers, between the ages of 8 and 18, on
issues they have about being a young carer and a young person. We do this
through individual work, group
work and school partnership work. If you would like further
information or you would like
to refer someone or refer yourself please download, complete and return the referral form.
Young carer publications
You can view or download a Young Carer Information Booklet and a Young Carer leaflet.
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