Hi, my name's Luna, I'm 16, and I live in Lydney in the Forest of Dean. I provide emotional support for my mother and complete tasks around the house like shopping, monitoring her medication and cooking for the family. It sounds weird but i kind of felt like the adult of the house sometimes.  

My main caring role though is the emotional things. Calming mum down when she got overwhelmed and supporting her by talking to her and making sure she was okay when she was a bit anxious and struggling.

I’m proud to be a young carer because it is not an easy thing to do. You build so much resilience and and learn so many skills that other don’t. I’ve learnt to cook, be independent and how to support others when they needs help. I have grown up quicker than most of my other friends.  

I miss out on a lot of school. Mainly because I am caring for my mum and worry about her a lot. I miss out on a lot of my education and have fallen behind my peers. I always catch up but it is a bit of struggle like completing homework and stuff. It’s just always a worry. I still try and see my friends but it is difficult. If mum is okay I will go and see them but if she’s not then i don’t go out much.  

I have been a part of Gloucestershire Young Carers since I was about 8 and have been going to the groups ever since. I am also a part of the forum where I get the chance to have my voice heard and part of the mosquito mission where I get the opportunity to talk and train professionals and use my own experiences to try and make services better for other young carers. My favourite part about Gloucestershire Young Carers has definitely been the international conference. Getting the chance to speak to people from all over the world and present to hundreds of people about young carers was just incredible! I will never forget it.  

As a whole, Gloucestershire Young Carers has really helped me to see the positive in my caring role and not just the negatives. It’s helped me understand it better and now I can use that knowledge with my own experience to help others and teach people about young carers.  

I love doing arts and I am also a part of sea cadets which I do every week. We get to do engineering, go on shooting courses and make lots of friends. We get to meet up with lots of other districts as well which is awesome. I love my art and am doing it for GCSE. I love fine line stuff and doodling.  

I love living in the country side and going on walks. In Gloucestershire there’s so many cool places to go and visit! The harbours are lovely and there is so much to do everywhere. Gloucestershire is just a cool place and theres so many opportunities out there.  

Young carers is such a hidden thing still. There's so many out there and it needs to have more light shone on it. Everyone is doing such a massive job and they are doing their best. It’s not always easy caring for someone and doing the things a normal kid would do but with the right support it is possible and can make such a massive difference like it has with me.