On Wednesday 23rd February 2011 the Interagency strategy for young carers in Surrey was launched.
The launch took place at the Surrey Young Carers fun day with over 150 young carers, aged 8 to 18, present. Surrey County Council cabinet member for Children and Families, Mary Angel, spoke to the young carers and health and social care professionals at the launch.
Young carers are children and young people (up to the age of 18) whose life is affected by looking after someone with a disability or long-term illness. The person they care for may be a parent, a sibling, another family member or a friend, and need not necessarily live in the same house as them. The care they give may be practical, physical and/or emotional. New research published by the BBC, among over 4,000 schoolchildren, showed that one in 12 had caring responsibilities, equating to some 700,000 young carers in the UK – four times the number identified in the 2001 census. This means about 12,000 young carers may live in Surrey. This compares to a figure of 3000 which had previously been the estimate of the numbers of young carers in our county.
The Interagency strategy for young carers in Surrey is a joint strategy by: Action for Carers (Surrey), Surrey County Council, Surrey Young Carers, Mid Surrey Project for Young Carers, NHS Surrey and Surrey and Borders Partnership Trust.
It is a three year strategy which focuses on joint working and partnership between both statutory and voluntary organisations.
The strategy’s action plan sets out five key areas of work:
“It was a fabulous event, which recognises and celebrates young carers in Surrey. By having some time to themselves to meet with other young people in similar situations really highlights that they are not alone in their caring role. We hope today that friendships were made and lots of fun was had by all those who attended. ." Michelle Harper, Surrey Young Carers Manager