Bridges Project revives Young Carers Service

Following a two-year grant from the Triangle Trust’s 1949 Fund, Bridges Project yet again has a service specifically for young people with caring responsibilities.

The Young Carers Service was relaunched on 1 May and will see the charity delivering individually tailored, person-centred support to young carers and young adult carers aged 15-25 in East Lothian. It will provide bespoke one-to-one support which will enable young people with caring responsibilities to continue in higher and further education and training. Alongside this, the service will ensure that young carers and young adult carers are equipped to juggle the dual role of being a school, college or university student and a carer.

Niamh Mitchell will be responsible for delivering the Young Carers Service. She comes from a role as a Bereavement Support Worker with Richmond’s Hope, where she provided one-to-one support to young people aged 4-18 who have experienced bereavement. In addition to her extensive experience of coaching young people for Pentland Gymnastics, she is therefore well-equipped to take on the challenge of supporting young people with caring responsibilities.

“I look forward to supporting young people who do not have as high aspirations and help them develop the skills they need to reach a positive destination. It will also be great to help young people to believe in themselves, regardless of their circumstances, and help them to achieve what they want to achieve,” said Niamh, who also holds a Criminology degree from Edinburgh Napier University.

The new Support Worker (Young Carers) added that she is particularly looking forward to providing young people with one-to-one support and doing various activities with them out in the local community.

Bridges Project has a long tradition of providing young carers services, having previously delivered East Lothian Council funded young carers services for nearly 10 years. When the last funding agreement with the Council expired last year, a large number of the young carers supported at the time stated that they would like more intensive, one-to-one support. The new Young Carers Service will provide exactly that. The fact that there are also an estimated 1,500-3,000 young carers in East Lothian means that the need for the service is well-evidenced in the council area.

The Young Carers Service will provide one-to-one support to 30 young carers and young adult carers in East Lothian each year. Young people using the service will also be able to participate in a range of different Bridges Project groups, including college preparation groups, confidence building courses, social groups such as art and cooking groups and industry specific employability workshops such as the construction industry programme Build You Up and the beauty industry programme Glow Up. In addition, they will have the opportunity to gain accreditations such as the Tenancy Award and SCQF Level 4 qualifications such as the PlayBack ICE units Developing Confidence for Employment and Citizenship. Furthermore, they will be able to access all the other services offered at Bridges Project.

Niamh looks forward to be able to start working with young people and is already enjoying her time at Bridges Project:

“I have had a warm welcome from everyone. Everyone is so welcoming and supportive of each other, which makes a huge difference!”