On Tuesday 25th October we were invited by our trustee Professor Saul Becker to attend a conference at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), alongside Cheshire Young Carers, other staff from MMU, and members of the Tokyo government, to discuss support for young carers in Tokyo.
We then heard from five fantastic young carers, who are amongst the 2000 young carers on the books of Cheshire Young Carers, having received, or are currently receiving support from the charity. They talked about their own experiences of being young carers from as young as 3-5 years old, the impact and positives of being young carers on their education and futures, the impact of support, and they also gave advice to the Tokyo government delegate for developing their own young carer support strategies.
The Tokyo government delegation about their current findings and plans to support for their own young carers.
Finally, we met with other MMU Staff, who are working with Saul to develop research and evidence around interventions that will provide much needed support to young carers and young adult carers in the UK.
The Neumark Foundation are incredibly proud to have committed nearly £200,000 to commission research carried out by the MMU team, led by Saul, to improve the support for young carers, both on a local level here in North Wales and strategically on a national level.
It was a huge privilege to be present at such an important conference, as Tokyo start their journey to develop policies and support for their young carers.
We would like to say well done and thank you to everyone who took part, especially the incredible young carers, who bravely told their own stories, and provided such important advice as a voice for young carers worldwide.