So here I am, nearing the end of my first year working on the Young Adult Carer service at Carers Leeds.  The time has flown! And what a year it has been.  It feels like a very exciting time for the Young Adult Carer project.  There are lots of developments in the pipeline and we cant wait to take them on! I will continue to offer individual support to Young Adult Carers and to being involved in the support group and activities but I will also begin to focus on building on our links with schools and colleges with an aim to support more 16 to 18 year olds.

Over the last year we have enjoyed art, comedy, films, food and escaping from locked in games!  Last summer we held a participation day where carers told us what they want.  Our carers have also been involved in some paid consultation work with the Learning & Work Institute.  Two of our young adult carers spoke at the Carers Leeds 20th birthday celebration in May, which was attended by Princess Ann.  And we have also had lots of help from our carers who have been interviewed in the media, for which we are always hugely grateful.

I have a thousand questions and ideas on how we can trump these achievements this year.  Tomorrow I hope to make some sense of my scribbles and formulate some sort of plan.  I will keep you posted…

Jo Foster – Young Adult Carer Support Worker