West Country's young carers are 'more stressed' during lockdown and find it hard to balance caring and school work
Watch Ben McGrail's full report below
Young carers in Somerset have told ITV News they feel more stressed during the coronavirus lockdown and are finding it hard to balance looking after a loved one with school work.
There are thousands of young people who have a caring role in the West Country - many of them under the radar. There are fears that a large number of them are struggling to cope.
15 year old Bassie and 17 year old Immy Wakefield live in Frome and are carers for their mum, Fluer. They say the coronavirus has made life more stressful.
Immy said: “Young people are struggling because they can’t go out and do things they want to do but I think for young carers it’s a lot worse because they were already restricted before everything kicked off.
“Now we’re even more restricted because we can’t even go to school. A lot of young carers would have seen going to school as an escape from the home situation. They haven’t even got that now and they can’t see the people they used to like being around.”
Bassie and Immy aren’t alone in feeling added pressure.
Caring Together is a charity which supports young carers and says almost four out of five had told them they’d been left feeling more isolated during the lockdown.
They surveyed young people from across the UK who have caring roles:
Andy McGowan, Head of Carer Services at Caring Together, said: “Yes, care workers are facing increasing pressures around PPE, about the strains that they’re facing, but actually what one young carer said to me is that at the end of their shift they can go home to their families, they can switch off, they can put the TV on.
“They don’t have that off button and that’s a huge pressure for those young people right now.”
That feeling of being left behind is compounded by the fact that, for most people, the role of a young carer is a hidden one. No-one really knows quite how many young carers there are in the UK.
Dr Kate Blake-Holmes is an academic researching the effects of the pandemic on young carers and says caring isn’t the only stressful part of it.
Somerset young carers' health under threat from 'excessive levels of stress'
Young carers in Somerset say they've lost their support network
Some young carers in Somerset have told ITV News they have felt ignored during the coronavirus crisis.
Their support services have undergone change in recent years, leading to criticism of Somerset County Council from some families.
The council’s cabinet member for children, Cllr Frances Nicholson, said: “Virtual meetings, activities and telephone contact has continued throughout the current coronavirus crisis.
"If you’re a young carer and you need support or if you are a parent/carer requesting an assessment please contact 0300 790 6275."
Bassie and Immy Wakefield are two of an estimated 1,750 young carers in Somerset.
They wanted to spread a message of hope for children in their position.
Immy said: "However hard it’s going to be you just have to be as positive as you can because you are such a strong-minded person for being able to deal with the stuff you deal with anyway.
"This is something that you can go away from and say 'I was able to deal with that and I kept my family safe'."