0:00:11 > 0:00:13Millions of people in the UK
0:00:13 > 0:00:16dedicate their lives to caring for a loved one.
0:00:16 > 0:00:2120 years ago, the Princess Royal established The Princess Royal Trust For Carers
0:00:21 > 0:00:25to provide these carers with much needed support.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Most people will know somebody who's caring.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Now they might not recognize it as an issue but there probably are.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37I know what it feels like to be a carer,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40my mother, Nancy, had late-onset Crohn's disease
0:00:40 > 0:00:43and I looked after her for the last years of her life.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46When she moved in with me I was in my mid-30s, living alone
0:00:46 > 0:00:50and I had very little money because I couldn't work.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53My overwhelming feeling for all those years was one of isolation,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55and sustained panic.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00There are over six million carers in the UK, unpaid family members
0:01:00 > 0:01:03putting the needs of their loved one before their own.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08175,000 of these carers are children.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14This is Chelsea.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15She is now 11,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19but when she was just five years old her mother started to go blind.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23- So, what's just one dot?- A.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26I started losing my sight about five/six years ago.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I was ill, got to the hospital
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and I had tuberculous meningitis on the brain.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Chelsea and her mother live alone,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41so there was no-one else that could step in.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Chelsea gradually became her mother's carer.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49She realised that I couldn't see things, couldn't do things,
0:01:49 > 0:01:54so she just started helping and it's been going on ever since.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58All the chores involved in running the home
0:01:58 > 0:02:02fall on Chelsea's 11-year-old shoulders.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05I started doing the bathroom then I got used to it,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08so I started doing the rest of the house.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14I don't like cleaning... cleaning the toilet, though.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19The hardest thing for Chelsea is leaving her mother alone all day.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22When I'm going to school I worry about her,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26when I am coming, like, back I worry about her,
0:02:26 > 0:02:31or when I'm out of the house I worry about her.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37It makes me sad because she's missing out on a lot of things.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Chelsea should be having a life really,
0:02:40 > 0:02:45not looking after me, it should be me looking after her.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Many young people are caring
0:02:47 > 0:02:49because they're in a family environment,
0:02:49 > 0:02:55they're happy to help and they want to be part of that caring role.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59But there's equally a very good chance that they will find it
0:02:59 > 0:03:01more difficult to attend school,
0:03:01 > 0:03:06they will find it more difficult to have friendships.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Years after my mother died,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12I started working with The Princess Royal Trust For Carers
0:03:12 > 0:03:16because I could empathise, having been a carer myself.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19The more carers I meet, the more I realise
0:03:19 > 0:03:23how great is the need for support.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26DOORBELL RINGS
0:03:26 > 0:03:30- Hello, come in.- Sarah, hello, it's Pam, nice to meet you.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Sorrell, would you like to say hello to Pam?
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- Hello, Sorrell. - Are you going to say hello to Pam?
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Hello, what's over there?
0:03:40 > 0:03:44'Sorrell is 11 years old and was born with cerebral palsy.'
0:03:44 > 0:03:48That's the cockerel, which word says frog? Oh, well done!
0:03:48 > 0:03:53'Although she has severe physical handicaps,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56'in many ways she is just like any other 11 year old.'
0:03:56 > 0:03:58You are very clever, aren't you?
0:03:58 > 0:04:01She's bright, she's vivacious,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03she is stubborn,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05extremely strong-willed.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09'But although she is very mentally alert there are many things
0:04:09 > 0:04:11'Sorrell is not able to do.'
0:04:11 > 0:04:17She is still very much a baby in terms of her caring needs.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19She still wears nappies.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22We still have to change her nappies several times a day,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25all her feeds have to be given, she's tube-fed,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27she takes nothing by mouth.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32We have all the medicines. She can't dress herself.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Sorrell needs care 24 hours a day,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39which is provided mainly by her mother Sarah.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42But Sorrell has three younger siblings that her parents
0:04:42 > 0:04:44also have to look after.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47I've got a seven-year-old boy and twins, a girl and a boy,
0:04:47 > 0:04:48who just turned three.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51That's quite a job before you start with Sorrel.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53When I first found out I was expecting twins, I said,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56"How will I push a pushchair and a wheelchair?!"
0:04:56 > 0:05:01I think it's a bit like walking on a precipice,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05everything is going fine and then something gets thrown at you,
0:05:05 > 0:05:10and you fall off, you stop coping, that's when the emotion gets to you.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Carers so often need help and encouragement,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and this is where the Trust steps in.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23They can provide a dedicated support worker, like Diane,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27who can give the carer one-to-one support and advice.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32Chelsea has been meeting with Diane once a week since 2009.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34And how's your mum at the moment?
0:05:34 > 0:05:40She's OK, um, her eye's been, like, really painful and stuff.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43- So you had to help her?- Yeah,
0:05:43 > 0:05:48I had to get like, some hot water and cotton wool and just dab it.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53Maria's disability has had quite a huge effect on Chelsea,
0:05:53 > 0:05:59The worry Chelsea experiences is one of the most debilitating things.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02She worries about her all the time, when they're not together.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It's just very difficult for her.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08'Chelsea has built a very strong relationship
0:06:08 > 0:06:10'with Diane over the years.'
0:06:10 > 0:06:13'She knows there is someone there to listen to her all the time.'
0:06:13 > 0:06:17'I don't think I would've coped without that support.'
0:06:17 > 0:06:24Because I needed to get my mind off of the things stuck in my head.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26They've just helped me a lot.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34The Trust works to support the millions of carers across the UK
0:06:34 > 0:06:37with a network of 144 carer centres.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41There, people can ask advice, information,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44or just chat to someone in a similar situation.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48I feel very alone sometimes,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52but carers would be a lot more isolated without the support groups
0:06:52 > 0:06:56because it gives us somewhere to come together as a group,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58to chat, to exchange ideas.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Coming to speak to somebody else can put a problem into perspective.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Carers of all ages need support and help.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09But young carers need something else as well - time,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12to be free, to be just a kid,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15and have a break from their caring responsibilities.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19'Once a month Chelsea's carer centre
0:07:19 > 0:07:23'organises an activity afternoon for the young carers.'
0:07:23 > 0:07:25'If it's a role that young carers
0:07:25 > 0:07:28'feel they would like to contribute to,'
0:07:28 > 0:07:30we don't stop them from doing that,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32you shouldn't say that you can't do this,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35but you do allow them to have their own young lives
0:07:35 > 0:07:38to do the things that they want to do with their friends
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and again its about the space and the time to be able to do that.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47The support workers help me and Chelsea a hell of a lot.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49If we didn't know anything about them,
0:07:49 > 0:07:56I think we'd just be another one on the list of nobodies...
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Because nobody would have known, and no-one would care.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Carers of all ages carry a huge burden.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12The Princess Royal Trust For Carers
0:08:12 > 0:08:15is there to help them bear that responsibility,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18but they can't continue to do so without your help.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Please donate by going to the website:
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Or, if you don't have access to the internet, call:
0:08:32 > 0:08:37And if the lines are busy, please, please keep trying.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Or if you'd like to post a donation,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41please make your cheque payable to
0:08:41 > 0:08:44The Princess Royal Trust for Carers
0:08:44 > 0:08:46and send it to:
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Remember, if you're a UK tax payer,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51the charity can collect Gift Aid
0:08:51 > 0:08:53on your donation, worth another 25%.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Just send in a note to say you want your donation
0:08:56 > 0:08:58to be subject to Gift Aid,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00and include the date,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02your full name and address.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Thank you.
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