14 of our Young Carers attended the (much talked about!) Stand Tall Sessions with Abbey Croft Leisure and Suffolk Mind, which included an 8 week programme followed by a free 6 months gym membership. The programme looked at supporting Young Carers with their wellbeing and assisted them in building their own emotional resilience whilst encouraging healthy lifestyles; physically and mentally.
We have worked in partnership with Abbeycroft Leisure for a number of years offering this programme to Young Adult Carers. We could see how valuable this programme was to our YACs and the changes they were making along the way, so we decided to extend this offer to our Young Carers. Not only does this programme enable the young carers to think about making positive and healthy changes to their lives, it also creates a platform for them to build positive friendships with one another. After completing this programme we have given the Young Carers the opportunity to receive further 1:1 support sessions within the gym and have invited them to our Social Action Group to enable them to continue their friendships further.
Here is some of the feedback we received from the Young Carers who attended the programme…
Have you noticed any changes in yourself since being on the programme?
Yes, it has given me a lot of time to enable me to think about what I am doing in life and the impact it has. Since completing the course I am having more sleep and I feel more prepared to go to school. Before I used to always rush my homework on the night before or the lesson before but now I am able to plan.
What difference has the programme made to you?
It has made me feel more excited to socialise with my friends. Before the programme I didn’t go outside much but now I enjoy seeing my friends outside playing cricket.
Would you recommend this programme to anyone?
Yes, I have told my friend about Stand Tall and it opened up a conversation of him being a Young Carer, I spoke with my adviser who gave me a leaflet to give to him to offer him support from the Young Carers team.
What do you think of the programme so far?
‘’Good, well it’s um some place to come and talk and take my anger out and let off steam’’
‘’It’s been really good in that it’s helped me open up to people about how I’m feeling’’
‘’It’s good getting people together and making new friends’’
We would like to say a huge thank-you to all the staff involved within the Stand Tall programme and to our Young Carers who showed true commitment and enthusiasm throughout. We encourage you to keep going! Keep making those positive changes!
