Three inspiring young Canberrans were awarded with $350 personal grants by the Country Women’s Association’s Canberra Branch.
The CWA Young Carers Grants recognise that these young people, each a carer for a family member, have missed out on a normal childhood in many ways in order to fulfil a role more mature than their years.
Anglicare’s CYCLOPS program is an ACT initiative Connecting Young Carers to Life Opportunities and Personalised Supports and CWA Canberra have partnered with Anglicare in recognising the achievements of young carers for many years.
The role of a young carer can include cleaning and cooking for the family, managing bills, assisting with medication, personal care tasks as well as seeking help from medical professionals.
“These young carers so often put their needs and wants aside to support and care for their family. They are often required to help up to 8 hours of the day on top of the school and work commitments” says Stephanie Stephens of Anglicare’s CYCLOPS program for young carers.
16-year-old Niamh was one of the deserving CWA Young Carers Grant recipients. She supports her mum by caring for her younger sister who is living with cerebral palsy.
Niamh helps with the essential care her sister needs, while balancing her college studies and overcoming learning difficulties caused by dyslexia.
“Erin sometimes has really bad days which can escalate quickly but I try to support her through that” shares Niamh.
Niamh meets with Stephanie every two weeks and follows a case management framework that works to develop life skills such as self care, dealing with conflict, budgeting, resume writing, career advice, personal skills and self care.
Niamh was quick to respond to any recognition of her hard work and caring nature by saying she couldn’t do it without her mum and her Anglicare support worker, Stephanie. Niamh also choked back tears when she expressed the love she has for her younger sister and explained that it’s because of love that she chooses to sacrifice the things a normal teenager would experience in order to take on the role of a young carer.
Well done Niamh!
Pictured L-R: Joy from CWA Canberra; Beke, Niamh’s Mum; Niamh; Carroll, CWA Canberra President and Stephanie, Anglicare CYCLOPS support worker.
