Hi my name is Lottie and I am 16 years old (year 11)
I am currently in the army cadets and am a leader there, helping younger cadets that join us. I am hoping to join the army in the future.
I was first identified as a young carer by my social worker Jess back in 2019.
My caring role has changed since being referred to GYC. I was first referred due to me helping my mum as she had mental health problems and led to me looking after her and doing a lot around the home as it was just the 2 of us. My mum has issues with her mental health meaning she has down-days where she struggles to do things. Now I care for my little sister who is being diagnosed for autism. I am the only one she really listens to so I do a lot of the caring for her. When my mum feels bad I end up looking after everyone in the house.
Because of this I don’t really get time to do my homework or revise and don’t really get time to myself either. I don’t think school really understand either which makes things more difficult.
An example of what I do at home is when we go shopping. My sister really struggles with shops and often has big meltdowns. Because she mainly listens to me I have to deal with it but also means when mum is out on her own with her it can be really difficult. This can then lead to my mum feeling bad and her mental health getting worse again.
It makes other things difficult aswell like going out to see friends as I am needed at home to look after everyone. When I do get to go out I constantly worry about them and try not to contact them as i know it will make me worry even more.
The hardest part about being a young carer was actually acknowledging that i was a young carer. I didn’t want to accept that I did all these things and that my family may be slightly different to my friends and other people. Even now it is still difficult to tell my story and speak about some of the events in my life but I was glad i did in the end.
With Gloucestershire Young Carers I have been given the opportunity to tell my story and help improve other young carers lives by training professionals based on my experience. Being able to use my experiences to train people and make others realise more about young carers and the impact it has on young people lives has been amazing.