Address:
12A Wilson St
BURNIE TAS 7320

SERVICES

Carers Tasmania – Young Carer Program

The Young Carer program facilitated by Carers Tasmania is funded by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA) and has been established to acknowledge and support Young Carers.

This program offers:

• Free resources
• Information and advice on topics such as health, wellbeing and how to best cope with stress
• Emotional support and counselling (employing 4 qualified counsellors)
• Regular activities (recreational and therapeutic) and camps/holidays during school term breaks

Events and holidays are coordinated into gender and age specific groups, which not only provide some respite for the Young Carers, but also enables them to meet other Young Carers in similar roles who they can relate to. These Young Carers do not have to be Primary Carers and do not have to be receiving an allowance or pension.

Each year Carers Tasmania identifies large numbers of Carers who benefit greatly from our Carer Support Group networks, educational sessions and emotional support.

A lot of networking and promoting is done by the team at Carers Tasmania to educate both other service providers and the general public.

The work involves:

• Identification of Young Carers state-wide
• Liaison with the Education Department, local councils, community health centres, youth organisations, disability specific organisations, the general public and so on
• Input into the Young Carers Webpage
• Participation in the ANYCAT network to establish and provide assistance to Carer Associations in the development of National, State and Territory based Young Carer Programs to better respond to Young Carer needs
• Promotion of community awareness of Young Carers, their issues and needs
• Participation in working with other service providers (i.e. Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre) on Mobile Access Points
• Organising and facilitating regular activities and holidays for Young Carers and their families