We asked Josh to tell us his story and what it felt like to receive such a deserving award.
Tell us about yourself including name, age, education/career – future goals, hobbies/interests, how long you have been a young carer for.
My name is Joshua, I am 16, I am an apprentice plumbing and heating engineer. My future goal is to become qualified in my trade, have a few hobbies a couple being: Playing xbox and going out with my friends. I have been a young carer for 5 years.
Being a young carer can often come with challenges, what things have you had to overcome whilst caring for your loved one? (i.e. did you have any challenges with school, being the eldest sibling, running of the house – chores, personal goals)
Many things happened throughout my young carers journey not all being easy, it affected my school life majorly and my attitude towards school. Being the eldest sibling I had to look after my brothers which was easy enough being that my brothers are so grown up and helped me more than I can thank them for and I’m so proud of what they have become.
Tell us about your experience of the evening i.e. what was the award you received and what for, what did it feel like receiving an award? was there a dress code? Did you have to make a speech, meet important people?
It was an experience I will never forget and I am so grateful to even be considered for this honour, the dress code was formal, a lot of important people were there and was amazing to see how kind they were towards me.
If there was a motivational sentence/ piece of advice you could give to a young carer struggling what would it be?
Don’t give up, it may take you to a dark place but with perseverance and compassion you will step up to the best of your ability and show people what an amazing person you are.
As a young carer – young adult carer, what have you found most helpful? I.e. has school supported your further in any way? Support groups outside of school? It could also be something you have managed by yourself to help you.
School and Suffolk Family Carers – Young Carers were amazing with the help and support they gave me without them I wouldn’t be the person I am today.
As a recipient of an award in recognition of being a young carer, what would you like to say about the current support for young carers? What would have helped you better? How may services change to better support the needs of young carers?
In my eyes I needed nothing more than what was provided for me, Suffolk young carers is an amazing group of amazing people that without their help people like me would struggle on without any guidance or help.
Adviser’s message to Joshua:
Congratulations on a well-deserved recognition award for being a young carer. I suspect it was a little weird receiving an award for what is in fact – your life, it can be hard to realise what being a young carer entails and means for some people. For you though, I hope you managed to take some proudness away from the day and reflect on the amazing journey you are pursing with your apprenticeship in becoming a young man. For most young carers, it can be really challenging to pluck courage and the motivation to make something of yourselves as you are mostly prioritising other people’s needs and feelings before your own. I do hope that this award (which should be polished daily and added to the achievement section on your CV!), has given you a little reminder of what it can feel like to push through the hard times and achieve what you set your goals on.
The full article can be found here: Newmarket honours its heroes at its inaugural community awards (suffolknews.co.uk)
