Page 1671 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 1 April 2009
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Youth Week not only is a showcase of the talents and achievements of young people; it also serves to highlight a number of issues that are important to young people. I would like to discuss one of these issues today.
Young carers are being recognised for the daily work they do caring for a family member. This year they could take some time off and relax at a zoo fun day that is being held this Saturday. This activity aims to give young carers and their families a fun day out and a much-needed break. In previous years it has been the young carers big breakfast, which has been held at the Yacht Club, and then a day of rides and activities over at Black Mountain Peninsula. But I am pleased to see that there has been a change to the program and that a new activity, a day at the zoo, has been put together.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have noted that, whether caring for a parent or caring for other family members, young people who become carers may experience a restricted social life, lower educational achievement and increased stress. Young carers are often invisible to government and to support services. They may not consider themselves to be carers and they may not know that they can seek support.
The Youth Coalition Stop to listen findings from the ACT youth carers research project in 2005 found that regarding the impacts of caring on their lives, health and wellbeing, and their participation, young carers may experience positive impacts of caring, including feelings of pride and worth, a sense of accomplishment, greater levels of fitness, greater resilience, stronger family relationships, better outcomes in education, more skills and a positive outlook on life. Young carers may also experience negative impacts of caring, including fatigue, injury, greater levels of stress, anxiety and feelings of hopelessness, family conflict and breakdown, financial insecurity, limited social and recreational opportunities and poor outcomes in education. And young carers caring for a relative with an alcohol or other drug issue are likely to experience similar impacts as other young carers, though they may experience greater social isolation, be exposed to less safe situations and be less likely to receive support.
The poor outcome in education is of significant note. In the past decade, much of the research about young carers has highlighted the need for flexible education options for young carers. Some work has been done to assist them but, as with all carers, the obstacles still remain. It has been noted that a young person’s education and career opportunities may be affected due to not attending school or being unable to concentrate once there.
Young carers will often stay at home to care for their relative. Even where care responsibilities are episodic, school success and attendance can be affected. Due to the fact that many young carers are still hidden, schools are often unaware of the impact of disability or illness on students’ family life and are then—or may be in some cases—unsympathetic to their needs. Many young carers have school results with low levels of academic achievement and a considerable number of absences—approved and unapproved. This in turn could mean lack of employment opportunities, especially with lower educational outcomes.
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