Continuing on from part 1 where we introduced the theme of this year’s ‘YCAD’. These blogs have been written by YACtion, the GYC young adult carers forum.You can read part 1 hereWhat support do you need to help you with your mental health and wellbeing?YACtion: As a carer, we often hide our struggles to protect others and not upset our family. We put on a brave face but bottling things up means we can end up exploding! To stop this happening, these things help us the most:

• We need to have a break and those around us to understand how important this is – it’s not good to be at home 24/7.
• Days out and fun activities make a huge difference. I feel happy after doing something fun and more motivated.
• Having someone to talk to regularly.
• 1:1 pastoral support in school/college. A designated person who understand what’s going on and you don’t need to constantly explain your family.
• To access advice easily and quickly.
• Opportunity to spend time with other young carers–when I’m with my YACtion friends I don’t need to explain myself.
• Need to be listened to. Especially when it comes to the person I care for, even if they’re an adult we can help as know them better than anyone.
• More investment in support.

GYC have really helped us and we know that through the YAC service there is always someone to help us when we are struggling. There’s even a facebook group for carers aged 16 – 24 and we can message Jess (YAC worker) if we need advice or help with anything. The trips and groups they run make a huge difference!Please share this on social media with #AwareTheyCare and link to Gloucestershire Young Carers.Part 3 to follow...