This Thursday (28 January, 2016) is Young Carers Awareness Day, the national day of recognition for the 700,000 young carers in the UK.
Councillor Val Gibson, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "It is estimated that up to one in 12 secondary school pupils are young carers, and are giving their time to look after a relative, perhaps because they have a physical or mental illness, a disability or because they are struggling with substance misuse.
"In many cases, young carers often take on practical or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult.
"The stress and anxiety that this can cause can leave them feeling isolated and unsupported. Many miss out on their childhood and often perform poorly at school because of the pressures they are facing.
"Clearly it is an incredibly challenging role for young people to take on, and I'd encourage young carers and their families to find out about the support available from Spurgeons Wolverhampton Young Carers to help them overcome these challenges."
Based at The Workspace, on All Saints Road, Spurgeon Wolverhampton Young Carers is commissioned by the City of Wolverhampton Council to offer information, advice and practical help for families and one to one support and mentoring and education and homework support for young people. It also gives young people "time out" by organising trips and activities.
For more details, please log on to Type=links;Linkid=6799;Title=Spurgeons;Target=_blank;, Type=links;Linkid=6800;Title=Facebook;Target=_blank; or Type=links;Linkid=6801;Title=Twitter;Target=_blank;, call 01902 877550 or visit Spurgeons, The Workspace, All Saints Road, Wolverhampton, between 10am and 3pm on Thursday.
- released: Tuesday 25 January, 2016