Caring For young carers –
We often see on TV news about youngsters of school age caring for a disabled parent or other adult and checking on their younger siblings.
This always brings out a special feeling towards these kids who are unable to do what most kids want to do, that is hang out with their mates.
The Harrow Young Carers Charity has defined a young carer as a person aged up to 17 who is providing unpaid care for a person that an adult would normally provide, that has a physical or mental health problem including autism, dementia and learning disabilities, or is dependent due to age, substance misuse, long-term or terminal illness.
Harrow Young Carers also recognises that these young carers also have a right to be looked after and may need support and counselling themselves.
The Brethren of North Harrow Lodge, No. 6557 have realised the need for these young carers to be cared for themselves.
On Good Friday, Lodge Charity Steward, W Bro Derek Biddle, delivered a cheque for £200 to Harrow Young Carers.
But being aware of social distancing a teddy bear was placed strategically to ensure the required two metres was met.
This is the third gift of £200 presented by the Lodge to Harrow Young Carers, the first on reaching Steward status and then again when gaining Vice Patron in the Festival making a total of £600.
A Letter of Thanks –
The Lodge received the following letter of thanks from the Charity:
“At this time we have had to increase our expenditure for virtual services including new phone contracts, new phones, laptops and zoom accounts, so this will help us with the additional costs to reach out and connect with our young carers at this time.
Since the lock down we have been reaching out to 35 young carers each week over the phone and reaching many others through use of Social media.
Today we held our first Zoom activity for young carers, an at home scavenger hunt and this week we also held a virtual meeting for our young carers committee. In the coming weeks we will be implementing new online groups to support even more.
Its only through the generosity of groups like yourselves that we are able to do this work so a huge thank you for this and for choosing to stand beside the young carers in Harrow and us at Harrow Carers at this time.”
It is encouraging to see that youngsters willing and able to take on this kind of caring work are themselves given support and gratifying that the prospect of caring youngsters now will manifest in the future when they too become adult and hopefully develop as just, upright and of good character.