How lockdown has added to challenges facing Sheffield’s young carers

When the Prime Minister announced strict lockdown measures to help curb the spread of the coronavirus back in March, Sheffield Young Carers says only a third of the young people it supports had the right digital equipment to be able to do schoolwork from home.

One family did not even have paper and pens to write and draw with.

The charity, which supports more than 100 young carers across the city at any one time, has been working to tackle isolation and digital poverty.

It supports those young carers aged eight to 25, who help to look after someone at home who has a disability, illness, mental health condition or drug or alcohol problem.

Lockdown is having a “real impact” on these children and young people, it says. Many are unable to take a break from their caring roles and they are missing out on the distraction that school provides, whilst access to other services has also been reduced.

“Many parents have been worrying about their children’s education, but for young carers who spend every day supporting an ill or disabled family member at home, school provides much more than a formal education,” a spokesperson for the charity says.

“School is a distraction which provides respite from their daily caring responsibilities; it’s a chance to see friends and to do things other young people do.”

A young carer in Year 12, who wished to be named only as Sara, helps care for her older sister.

“Before the lockdown, I had school,” she says. “I could go to school and take my mind off everything.”

The charity, which also provides training on young carers to GPs and teachers, says that whilst young carers are one of the groups still able to go to school, many feel too scared to do so in case they bring coronavirus back home, where, in many cases, family members have high risk conditions.

Sara’s older sister has epilepsy and tuberous sclerosis which causes tumours around her body.

Her family have been particularly careful about going out of the house and, as her sister’s carer, Sara, 17, feels she has been under a lot of mental strain.

“You always have in your mind that something could go wrong,” she says. “It makes you on edge all the time.”

For families on low incomes, Sheffield Young Carers says there have also been additional challenges.

It claims a delay in receiving Government school meal vouchers left some unable to afford enough food.

“The delay led to school staff driving round delivering emergency food parcels to some families and Sheffield Young Carers referring others to foodbanks,” a spokesperson says.

“In addition, many young carers in Sheffield have struggled with a lack of digital access.

“Some families with several children have been trying to manage school work on a single mobile phone.

“Having little or no digital access has also compounded young carers’ isolation from their friends.”

To help address the issue of ‘digital poverty’, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, one of the UK’s largest independent grant-giving organisations, supplied Sheffield Young Carers with an emergency fund.

With this money and help from Sheffield technology company Millgate, it was able to equip 30 young people with the laptops and mobile wifi access to do their schoolwork and stay connected with family and friends.

The charity, established in 1997, is also continuing to provide young people and families with remote support by text, phone and group video chats, as well as linking them to other services, many of which are only currently offering support virtually, online.

Visit www.sheffieldyoungcarers.org.uk

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