March 2025
To our partners in supporting young carers,
Our Young Carers Connected Project, which has been supported by grant funding from The National Lottery Community Fund for the last 3 years, has now sadly come to the end of its funding, and therefore has drawn to a close.
Since February 2022 TTVS has supported young carers through our Young Carers Connected Project (incorporating Bright Futures Upbeat and Carewise). To date we have received 198 referrals covering Torridge, North Devon and Mid Devon covering an area of 1850 square miles and encompassing 132 school and colleges. Our small team of 2 dedicated support workers have been able to offer dedicated support to young carers, and work closely with their schools, other professionals and their families . By offering vital one to one support when the carer and their family are often in crisis, we have worked with them to navigate the challenges they face, ensure that they feel heard, and elevate their voices to ensure that any plans that might be made about their futures, have their wishes and feelings at the centre of them. The project has also offered additional family support through our project partner, Torridge, North, Mid Devon CAB. We have stood beside these inspiring young people as they navigate often very traumatic situations, and it is with great regret that we announce that our Young Carers Connected Project, will now end, as we have not been able to secure additional funding at this time for the service to continue.
Below is some feedback from a palliative nurse who has been working alongside one of our support workers:
The impact of losing the YCC project
I work as a counsellor and work with children whose parent/s has a palliative diagnosis.
This inevitably means that children end up caring for their dying parent and having to take on more responsibility around the house. Recently the YCC support worker has worked with two families where mum (who was a single mum and the sole carer of her children) is dying.
The child I have worked with has had a very difficult home life. There has been a reluctance to engage with me at times.
The support worker has been the constant for this child. Being a link to teachers in school and a link with me.
She has been able to attend the house at moments of crisis and be the child’s voice, and then encourage them into school.
She has been able to be this child’s voice to adults who are also not coping with the very stressful situation that is going on at home. The nature of the parent’s illness means that their personality has changed over time, which has been a real burden on the child, often having to meet the unrealistic demands. There was an initial reluctance for the child to engage with me, but the support worker has been able to attend these sessions with the child to allow the child to feel safe and heard by me, in a world where they feel constantly let down by others.
With this one child the YCC project and ensured that:
• this child remained in school,
• this child was safe,
• this child received age-appropriate counselling
• this child was heard and that adults around them have heard them
• teachers at school have heard and understood them and much more
Without the input of the YCC project I am in no doubt that this vulnerable child would not be attending school or counselling and would be finding other ways to numb the pain of the reality they are facing of losing their mum.
We are saddened that we are unable to continue supporting young carers. We appreciate that this is not the message you wish to receive, and we too are deeply unhappy with the current state of funding opportunities for this valuable service. TTVS will continue to work hard as we actively look for future funding, and we are hopeful that we will be able to support young carers once more. We appreciate all of the support that we have received, from partner organisations, referrers, parents and young carers themselves.
If you have any further questions, please email them to [email protected], who will be happy to arrange a conversation if you would like to talk to us about the project. We would also like to acknowledge the wonderful work carried out by our support workers and the team behind them; our support workers dedication and commitment to the young people they support has been truly inspiring.
