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Young Carers' Awareness Day

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Torbay Young Carers’ Awareness Day takes place this year on Thursday 31st August.

‘Please join us in spreading the word,’ they tell us, ‘and making sure our local young carers can access the support they need.’

‘You can also test your knowledge about young carers,’ they add, ‘ by trying out this fun quiz – let us know how you got on!’

https://carers.org/sites/default/files/media/the_young_carer_quiz.pdf

Young carers are children and young people who look after or help to look after someone who has a serious illness, disability, mental ill health or is affected by drugs or alcohol. Some young carers may be the only carers in the home or may support another family member in care tasks. The person being cared for is usually a parent, sibling or other family member.

‘In Torbay we have approximately 700 young carers that we are aware of,’ they remind us, ‘and we provide various levels of support depending on individual circumstances.’

This could be:

* Information and advice

* Activity groups ( these are run monthly in each of the 3 towns across the bay)

* Activities/ trips (mainly during school holidays)

* Mailing List

* In-school support

* Drop-in service

* Individual support (1-1, sign posting)

If you would like to find out more, please call Torbay Young carers on 01803 208657 or email youngcarers@torbay.gov.uk

Bob Jope Healthwatch Torbay

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(Author)

Apart from five years studying in Oxford I’ve lived most of my life in London where for many years I was Head of English in a prestigious girls’ school, but since taking early retirement and heading West to be nearer to my two daughters - settling in Torbay with my wife, Anna, in 2011 - I’ve worked in the voluntary sector. I took on the role of Service Provider, for example, promoting the Red Cross Torbay Navigators Project, while now I’m a Trustee and part of the Media Team for our local Healthwatch. I’m a governor at Torquay Academy, too, giving me the chance to stay up to date with what’s happening in the world of education. Other interests, aside from friends and family, include art and art history, reading - from contemporary fiction and poetry to Elizabethan/Jacobean literature - history, politics, cooking, walking, and music, in particular Bob Dylan, the blues, and early Elvis. I love writing, too, with one novel published so far – Elvis in Wonderland – and another, Who’s There?, that still needs plenty of work!