June 13th-19th was National Carers Week, a time to recognise and celebrate the contribution that carers make to those they care for, to bring to the fore the issues carers tell us are most important to them, and to encourage people to help identify the many thousands of  hidden young carers that are providing care for family members without anyone knowing or any support.

Every year, Carers Week is seven days to pay tribute to every single young carer and the contribution they make to their families and their communities. It is seven days to demonstrate to politicians, opinion-formers and the general public that carers deserve support and recognition, not just for one week a year, but for 52.

This year, to celebrate and raise awareness about the contribution of young carers in Sheffield, SYC offered a range of activities during Carers Week 2011:

• Picnics, rounders and fun at the park for young carers aged 8-12 and 13-16
• A cooking and chill out session for young carers aged 16-21
• Two awareness raising workshops for Social Work and Education students at the University of Sheffield, as part of an inter-professional student conference
• Young Carers display boards at Sheffield College

To find out more about young carers, how about watching this film made by the national Carers Week team to see young carers talking about what life is like for them?

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