The beautiful early September sun provided a very warm weekend for this year’s young adult carers wellbeing residential, held at the Abbey Organic Farm in Cirencester. Ten YAC’s had some wonderful experiences and enjoyed time outdoors, trying new activities and pushing their boundaries along the way.

The weekend focused on lots of different wellbeing activities, the group enjoyed egg collecting, craft activities, woodchopping, well needed team games with cold water, a nature walk, singing around the campfire, and of course toasting marshmallows!  The young adult carers also took part in a bespoke drama and mindfulness session from Petra at Inclusion Gloucestershire which demonstrated to the group how to practice breathing techniques and mindful strategies in their day-to-day lives.   Some delicious food was eaten over the weekend, which included pizza making using all organic produce straight from the farm.

For the young adults who attended, the weekend was a chance to gain respite from their different responsibilities at home and have a real chance for relaxation, fun, and focus on themselves. There was plenty of chance for conversations, peer support, and opportunities to relax and enjoy the peaceful location.

The residential was made possible with funding from the Carers Legacy Fund, Gloucestershire Community Foundation and by a generous donation from Optimising IT. We really hope we can obtain funding to do this again next year as the positive impact of the weekend was so evident.

Feedback from the carers who attended include:

“I enjoyed the people, both the staff and us all. We were a lovely group and we all got on so well. I loved the atmosphere and all the fun games.Lauren, Hana and Sam had clearly planned and thought about this trip. It was an enjoyable weekend, and everyone was amazing. I will never forget it as long asI live. It has changed me for the better.”

“I enjoyed the team building exercises, playing games with everyone else in the group and getting to know other young adult carers.”

“I enjoyed pushing myself this weekend, I thought it was going to be a real challenge, but I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was really accommodating and things I thought I would struggle with I haven’t!“

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