kieralouiseb

[kieralouiseb]

[kieralouiseb]

Young Carers. Hiding In Plain Sight.

[Original post written and published on January 12, 2017]

(Picture: Taken in June 2016 at my last Young Carers Festival)

Well, today I want to talk about Young Carers. Young Carers are everywhere, hence the title of this post. Young Carer's Awareness Day is on the 26th of January this year, which made me post this. If you'd like to know more about #YCAD then please take a look at this link: https://carers.org/young-carers-awareness-day.

I wrote this piece originally with the intention that it was used for fundraising in a church for Young Carers. They were fundraising so that they could pass the money on to the Young Carer Project, under The Children's Society, in the form of gift vouchers. I thought it was a lovely cause and wrote a piece on my experiences as a Young Carer to help pull on the heartstrings and get them donating. So here it is. Please keep an open mind when reading this. If you have any questions to do with this topic I am very open to answering them.

Please reach out via social media or through my email (found on About page).

What is a Young Carer? A ‘Young Carer' is a child who helps look after an immediate family member (mother, father, sibling) who is sick, disabled, has mental health issues, or is misusing drugs or alcohol. These children can be as young as 9 years old. The average age range of a Young Carer is 9 to 18 years old and the average age of Young Carers in the UK in 2016 is 12 years old.

A Young Carer can have multiple different responsibilities and it varies from each family. They could be as simple as cooking, cleaning, and fetching the shopping to offering personal care, emotional support, and providing nursing for the family member.

The aim of the Young Carer project is so that the carers receive support from adults and other children. With adult responsibilities, most children miss out on opportunities to be a child. Growing up as a Young Carer can be isolating, many struggle academically and are vulnerable to bullying. In some cases, there is no relief for the pressures they face at home, and most fear asking for help due to the fear of letting down family or being taken into social care.

There are many carer groups across the UK that aim to support over 200,000 carers who are caring for more than 50 hours per week. Carers are offered emotional support through groups across the country.

My name is Kiera and I cared for my mother who has a diagnosis of Crohn's Disease, Fibromyalgia, and she suffered from mental health issues and alcoholism. My mum was quite capable of doing mundane things for herself like washing and getting dressed, however, I have three younger siblings who all need her attention also. Her illness did not allow her to have much energy which is where I came in. I helped cook, clean and assist her with my younger sisters. I took them to school and picked them up, dressed them, bathed them, fed them, and babysat them.

I went to a group for 13-year-olds and above for 5 years where I met two of my best friends and managed to get my first part-time job. The group I went to was held every week on a Wednesday afternoon after school. It was accessible for children whose parents could not drive and there was a service that could drop us home after the group if needed. Each week there would either be a planned activity such as trampolining or archery or we could have a free “chill out” night where we could listen to music, play pool or watch a film. There was also a dinner option each week as some carers would not be fed at home. I found the group extremely useful as it was a safe place to talk about issues I had or just somewhere quiet to do my homework. It was particularly useful during my exam periods for GCSE and A-Levels.

Each year there is also a Young Carer Festival (YCF) on the last weekend of June from Friday to Sunday. This festival aims to give the carers a three-day rest bite from their caring duties and time for them to just enjoy being children. There are children as young as 8 years to 18 years that all gather from all over the UK to Botley, Southampton at Fairthorne Manor. I went to YCF 4 times during my 5 years with the Young Carers Project and I loved it every year. There are activities for every age group ranging from arts and crafts to musical performances and sporting events. During the day, there are a range of activities for anyone to join, for example, canoeing, rock climbing, abseiling, model clay making, painting, karaoke, football tournaments, or my personal favourite Jacob’s ladder. Then each evening had its own event. On Friday evenings, there was always the Opening Ceremony and then fireworks. On Saturday evening, there was a silent disco. At the silent disco, everyone would wear headphones and two DJs would battle it out between channels to win over the kids with their favourite songs. Going to this festival was one of the highlights of my year as it was a time where I didn’t need to think about my responsibilities and I could just let loose for a weekend with my friends.

Being a Young Carer has benefited me in many ways. I am a more independent and capable individual because I learned how to cook for myself, clean a house, and do other household responsibilities. I began to understand the importance of money and how to pay bills from watching and helping my mum. Now that I am an adult I understand how to fend for myself and look after others. It has made me a more caring and compassionate person and I can provide adequate emotional support for others. However, being a Young Carer has also hindered me in a few ways. Caring for my mum made me feel isolated from other children due to not having the same opportunities as them, I felt alone and I was bullied from age 11 to 14 years old. Whilst going through my GCSE exam period and also my A-Level exam period I had to keep up with my caring responsibilities which gave me less time to revise and learn compared to my non-caring classmates. This contributed to my underachieving in my GCSEs. I have also faced some mental health issues as I had to grow up extremely quickly, I was a lot more mature than some of my classmates at a rather young age.

But I would not change my situation for the world, being a carer has made me interact with many different types of people and learn about different family setups. Being a Young Carer in the UK is difficult though as the projects are slowly disappearing due to funding. But the projects that are still running are better than ever and I just hope that in the future every carer is able to find a group that can help them throughout their childhood and helps them move on to be an adult once the time comes.

You can donate to the Carers Trust here - https://www.donate.carers.org/

By donating, you are helping an amazing cause and helping some of the strongest children in the UK.

Please follow the link for more information on Young Carers in the UK - https://carers.org/young-carers-action-day-2021/young-carers-action-day-2021

That's it. Again, if you made it to the end and you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask them.

#young carer #carers #YCF #unpaid carers #children #young adults #teens

[kieralouiseb]

Intertwined Tour

[This is an old post originally written and posted on April 13, 2017]

(Not my image - Source) : https://mcadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/dodie-clark-900x506.jpg

Last month I went to a music gig on my own, it was a strange experience. I went to see Dodie Clark's Intertwined Tour. It was one of the best nights I've had in a while. Whilst I was extremely nervous about the situation I still overcame my fear and went.

I spent the entire day worrying about looking like I was by myself or that I'd get nervous on my own and have a panic attack. But neither happened in the end. I got off the bus and walked up to the line, which was huge. As I drove past on the bus, I could see people queuing around the corner. This made my heart feel like it was going to burst out of my chest. But I walked to the end of the line and waited for the doors to open. It felt like I was waiting for years but I stood quietly and people watched. Once the line started moving, I felt slightly better knowing that soon I could just do what I went there to do. I was trying to pluck up the courage to talk to the girls that were behind me. Finally, I spoke up and turned to them and said "Hi, is it okay if I stand with you? I'm on my own." They said "of course" which was a huge relief. They let me stand with them and involved me in their conversation. My heart rate started to slow again and I was feeling almost comfortable. So we went in and got a drink and then chatted until the support act came on.

It was a different but enjoyable experience by this point. I was chatting with absolute strangers at an intimate music gig, about to see one of my favourite artists. But I was having the time of my life. The moral of this little story is that you will surprise yourself some days and you will push your boundaries. But let yourself go and just take a risk. It will work out.

#personal #dodie clark #intertwined #concert #gig #music #alone #overcoming your fears

[kieralouiseb]

I AM A SPOTIFY ADDICT...

Let me start by saying, I listen to music a lot. I love it, I have always loved it, I will always love it. But I do have this terrible habit of listening to the same twenty songs on repeat until I’m sick of them. I’m working on this and trying to stop overplaying every song that I like until I hate it. However, this just means I’m now obsessed with creating new playlists for every mood. I have 14 public playlists for you to browse and they’re colour-coded (because I have too much time on my hands). If you’re interested or want to find some new music, here’s the guide to my favourite Spotify playlists :)

CHECK OUT MY SPOTIFY HERE

~vibes~ The name says it all. Absolute vibes. We’ve got a dancehall-reggae mix-up for this one.

Chronixx - “ Skankin’ Sweet ” Collie Buddz - “ Love & Reggae ” Barrington Levy - “ Murderer ” Koffee - “ Rapture ”

~ femme ~ I was watching karaoke videos on Youtube one Wednesday evening, singing a lot of Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston. I realised that I didn’t have a playlist that was exclusively female artists and I couldn’t come up with a creative name, so femme works. Featuring:

Whitney Houston - “ It’s Not Right But It’s Okay ” Erykah Badu - “ Phone Down ” Koffee - “ Toast ” Greentea Peng - “ Mr. Sun (miss da sun) ”

~ 420 ~ This is self explanatory. A whole month of 420 deserves a dedicated playlist.

Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg - “ The Next Episode ” Afroman - “ Because I Got High ” Collie Buddz - “ Come Around ” Trixie Smith - “ Jack I’m Mellow ” SiR - “ D’Evils ” Nafe Smallz, Chip & Black The Ripper - “ Smokin’” Rihanna - “ James Joint ” Aries, Benny Page - “ Herbsmoke "

~ dusk ~ This one is aptly named as it is a sex playlist. Yes, it’s one of my favourites. It’s just got some sexy, ‘get you in the mood’ bangers.

Krept & Konan - “ So Easy ” 2 Chainz, Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz, Jhené Aiko - “ It’s A Vibe ” 6LACK & Jhené Aiko - “ First Fuck ” Tyler, The Creator, Pharrell - IFHY

~ blue ~ This is a bit more of a chilled vibe - a throwback to my indie days. Yes, I used to wear flannel shirts, heavy eyeliner and vans constantly.

Sticky Fingers - “ Clouds & Cream ” Oh Wonder - “ Without You ” Garden City Movement - “ Terracotta ” Catfish and the Bottlemen - “ Heathrow ”

~ grey ~ This just sums up my emo phase. 2015 to 2017. Still bangs when I'm flying down the M3.

You Me At Six - “ Bite My Tongue ” Lower Than Atlantis - “ Emily ” DON BROCO - “ Priorities ” Marmozets - “ Is It Horrible ”

Happy listening friends... (also I'm always looking to create personal and curated playlists for others, so hit me up!)

#spotify #music #currentlylistening #writers on tumblr #my writing #playlist #spotify playlist