By Lycia Rodrigues, Caregiver Support Manager, FCBC
Last fall, while attending the Canadian Caregiving Summit, I had the opportunity to connect with young caregiver organizations and learn more about the supports and challenges experienced by approximately 1.25 million young caregivers in Canada.
Oliver Fitzpatrick, a panelist at the Summit and the Young Carers Coordinator with AMI Quebec is a voice for change, “These are kids and young adults filling gaps. Young caregiving, in its most extreme forms, is really a symptom of lacking support and policy.”
Young caregivers, defined here as those aged 15 to 29 years, have their own unique needs. Research shows they help in various ways by caring for their siblings or providing personal, emotional, or financial support to a parent, grandparent, or friend. When compared to non-caregiving peers, research reveals that young caregivers are at a greater risk of stress and depressive symptoms, low self-esteem, high anxiety levels, loneliness and isolation, difficulty relating to peers, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.
Young caregivers are often at an important stage of physical, emotional, and mental development; many haven’t solidified their life plans or pathways. Consequently, taking on the role of caregiver can impact the life choices and decisions they make.
Education and career development may be postponed, and delays may be experienced for normal life transitions, such as moving out of the family home, getting married, and having children.Thankfully, awareness of the challenges faced by young caregivers is slowly building. On March 14, 2023, the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, Young Caregivers Association and AMI-Québec organized the first national roundtable of 28 organizations supporting young informal carers. This network is helping our team learn more about program models and plans for this specific group of caregivers and advance health care policy.
We are thrilled to announce the POWERHOUSE ™ virtual program for young caregivers, launched in February 20, 2024. This FREE program aims to facilitate social interactions with young caregivers ages 16-25, helping them to acquire new skills, knowledge, and resources for their role as caregivers. It will provide opportunities to connect with other caregivers with similar experiences of supporting a family member, offer validation to their experiences, and the reassurance of being a part of a caregiving community. To learn more about this program and pre-register, please email our team at: youngcaregiverprogram@gmail.com.