Support Network for Young Carers Adapts to New Circumstances
Brentford FC Community Trust finding new ways to deliver its service
Instructor Anne takes a yoga class online. Picture: Brentford FC Community Trust
Respite for young carers across Ealing and Hounslow is taking on new forms to ensure no-one is left isolated during the coronavirus lockdown.
Brentford FC Community Trust is finding new ways to deliver its support programmes to young people aged seven to 18, who have a caring responsibility for a member of their family, due to illness, disability or substance misuse.
The service supports 200 carers across Ealing and 100 across Hounslow, but since the crisis stopped all non-essential contact, the chance to take time out of their home duties has been cut off.
A fortnightly swimming club in Northolt and youth club in Hanwell and Hounslow were forced to come to a halt, as well as school lunchtime and homework clubs.
“They do miss it because they have been going weekly to a lot of those things and obviously not going to school now, it’s gone from seeing us to not seeing anyone,” Katheryn Sobczak, the trust’s young carers coordinator, said.
“It is frustrating for them because going from having that time [away] from being a carer to being 24/7 instead, I think that is particularly difficult for a lot of them.”
Young carers with Brentford FC Community Trust. Picture: Brentford FC Community Trust
With some children who are not able to leave the house as their parents have to self-isolate for 12 weeks, the charity has delivered footballs and games to occupy them in their own gardens, and worked with the council’s community support hub, Ealing Together, to have food delivered to their homes.
Kathryn is calling round dozens of families to provide one-to-one support over the phone, and the trust has started to host virtual youth clubs so that the carers can still keep in contact with their friends.
From the age of nine, Kathryn herself became a young carer as her mum suffered from severe depression and borderline personality disorder.
Her own experience of being offered support was what inspired her to work with young carers long-term, and recognises how hard it would have been if she was still in their position during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It can be really stressful not knowing what is going to happen or being isolated. Parents with mental health issues do stuff to get out of the house, get fresh air, do things to help with their mental health, they are not able to do that at the moment,” she said.
“If I was to imagine myself placed in that situation I think it would be very, very tough on the person you are looking after but also not being able to have a release myself not being able to get out of that situation.”
Alongside young carers in the community however the trust is also reaching out to all its groups to keep them motivated and active safely during the lockdown.
With the launch of its #Beathome campaign, live health and fitness classes are streamed online for adults in Hounslow, as well as football-inspired educational content for children.
Coaches are also continuing to work with schools open for keyworkers’ children, doing sports with a twist. One session for example saw a Twickenham school turned into an obstacle course.
To cater for all ages and abilities, the trust has also launched an online chair-based exercise class for those over 60 with limited mobility.
Chief executive Lee Doyle said: “The point with us is we’re a community organisation, we want to step up wherever we can to help people in crisis.
“There is so much online information, we had to think ‘what’s our unique selling point?’ Clearly that is our relationships with young people, and not just young people. They take a long time to build up so it’s really important we maintain that contact.”
Keeping the link with familiar coaches and football players has been key to forming the personal online content, and the charity boss says funders have been supportive through the process of adapting all the usual activities to instead be delivered online.
“What we’ve been impressed with is the resilience of the staff and young people, we are always a forward-thinking organisation and I think that is what will come out of this, the creativity and resilience.
“It is for organisations like us to step up at times like this and it really does define us as an organisation or as a community or society. It is optimism and hope that really keeps us going, and that is part of our job as well to give that structure and positivity.
“We can be a part of that and will come out of this together.”
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Anahita Hossein-Pour - Local Democracy Reporter
April 9, 2020