Buckinghamshire Freemasons donate Â£20,000 to help young adult carers

Bottom left-right: Joe Anning, Mike Clanfield, Emma Hollings
Top Left-right: Sarah Collin (Young Adult Carers Project Lead), Taisha Egan — Bottom left-right: Joe Anning, Mike Clanfield, Emma Hollings Top Left-right: Sarah Collin (Young Adult Carers Project Lead), Taisha Egan

The £20,000 grant will support the ‘Same Chances’ programme, designed to work with young people as they transition into adulthood and independence whilst continuing to provide unpaid care for an ill or disabled family member.

In the UK there are an estimated 700,000 young carers, 2500 of them in Buckinghamshire. The Young Adult Carers service started in Sept 2015 with the target to support 50 young adult carers living in Buckinghamshire within the first 18 months. In just over 2 years, the Young Adult Carers team have connected with and supported double that figure within the county.

Young Carers Bucks believe a young person who is the primary carer for a family member should not have fewer chances for further or higher education and employment compared with their peers.

The Young Adult Carers team help young people overcome the barriers they may be facing, while knowing the person they care for is safe and looked after. The team offer regular Life skills sessions, support worker drop in sessions, social meet ups, targeted group work and one to one support. There is also a Young Adult Carers steering group, which gives young people a voice to share their experiences with other young people and professionals.

The grant from Buckinghamshire Freemasons comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation, which is funded by Freemasons, their families and friends, from across England and Wales.

Sally Mansi, young carers service manager, said: “We’re very grateful to Buckinghamshire Freemasons for their generous grant. It will support 80 young carers as they move into adulthood, giving them some of the same life choices and opportunities as their peers.”

Mike Clanfield from Buckinghamshire Freemasons (Bucks Provincial Representative of MCF) said:

“We’re very pleased to be able to support the Carers Trust in Bucks who do hugely important work with young people who are the primary carers for ill and disabled family members. These young people deserve the same chances as everyone else.”