Launch of Northamptonshire Young Carers Service new short film

Northamptonshire Young Carers Service (NYCS) supports young carers across the county and sees first hand the impact a caring role can have on a young person and their life chances. They have been working with local young filmmaker, Ellie Wickes, to give young carers an opportunity to have their voice heard and share their experience, in a new short film, ‘One Million of Us: Recognising and Supporting Young Carers’. The film will be launched at a premier on December 12th at the Holiday Inn, Corby.

With the support of a grant from the Northamptonshire Community Foundation, young carers registered with the service have worked alongside Ellie, to research and design the content of the film, which captures what it can be like to be a young carer. Kaycee said,

“When I’m doing something like this (a painting activity with NYCS) it takes me away from my siblings and makes me calm because when I’m at home I’m sometimes stressed and when I come out it gets the stress off of me”.

Ash, who cares for his parents who have both had a stroke, features in the film and allowed cameras into his home to see what a day in the life of a young carer can be like. He said, about being involved in the making of the film,

“It was good to express myself and tell everyone what it is like to be a young carer. I feel amazed and proud of myself that the film will be shown to people”.

Annie Freestone, Service Manager for Northamptonshire Young Carers Service, said,

The young carers involved in the making of the film were very clear about what they wanted to see included: they wanted to have their voices heard, they wanted to show what a typical day might look like for a young carer, they wanted to show the kinds of activities they come out to with the Young Carers Service and, most of all, they wanted to show the positives as well as the negatives, the joys as well as the challenges that being a young carer can bring. We hope that by making and sharing this film we can help increase the identification of young carers by schools and professionals and thereby improve the support they can access.”

The young carers were involved at every stage of the production, creating storyboards, compiling interview questions and helping with filming and photography and they want to see the film shared with educational and health professionals across the county, to help raise awareness about the experience of young carers.

The launch of the film will take place at the Holiday Inn, Corby on the 12th December at 5pm, providing a little Hollywood glamour for the young carers involved. After the launch, NYCS intends to share the film with educational establishments, health and social professionals and voluntary organisations across the county, to help professionals and the public recognise the invaluable contribution young carers make and to open up the debate about the best way to support them in their caring roles. The film will be available to view on the organisations website and social media channels following the launch: https://www.northamptonshire-carers.org/