Action for Children’s Pembrokeshire Young Carers service has been delivering £15 vouchers to all young carers in the county. Pembrokeshire County Council provided the additional gift for Carers Week in recognition of the extra pressure Covid-19 has put on young people who already have significant responsibilities.
Young carers received Amazon vouchers so they could buy additional phone data cards, arts and craft supplies, wellbeing supplies, music or books.
Vikki Phillips, family support practitioner for Pembrokeshire Young Carers, said: ‘It’s been a joy to deliver these vouchers in addition to the normal services and support our young carer team has continued to provide at this worrying time. We’ve been maintaining crucial contact by phone and video calls to ensure our services could continue as the crisis unfolded.
‘It has been a very challenging time for young carers who are already under great pressure. As a service we were determined not to be blown off course by the coronavirus crisis and carry on delivering support whatever the virus threw at us and this gesture from Pembrokeshire County Council has been warmly received by all our young carers.’
Haverfordwest mum, Izzy, is shielding during the coronavirus crisis due to suffering with fibromyalgia and is being cared for by daughter Evie (12) and Cody (8). She said the kids were thrilled with the vouchers and were already planning how to spend them. She added: ‘I would like to pass on my thanks to Pembrokeshire Young Carers and the council’s Covid school hub for the support we have able to receive and the fantastic resources Evie has been able to access.
‘For myself, lockdown has brought many unexpected flare ups with unusual patterns that have been difficult to conquer and tricky to navigate at times, hardest of all is the effects my ill health can have on the children as I rely on them more and more. Thanks to these hardworking organisations, my daughter can now access support and enriching activities 3 days a week. Everybody has been so helpful, from suggesting and applying for the placement and the continual telephone support for each for us all. We truly appreciate how much relief and comfort this has gifted us.’
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