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It’s annual Carers Week in the UK and the campaign hopes to raise awareness of the challenges carers face and the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK.
20 year old Ella Mckenzie was named as one of this year’s Queen’s Young Leaders Award winners for her work supporting young carers in her community. Ella runs the Take the Lead project at Carers Trust Cambridgeshire which teaches young adult carers leadership skills so that when they go out into the world of work they feel more confident.
In recognition of her contribution to the community, Ella will collect her award from the Queen at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace on June 23rd 2016.
Ella has been looking after her mother, who has the rheumatic condition fibromyalgia, since the age of 15. She also lost her father when she was 17 and became responsible for the majority of household chores, as well as the care of her 12-year-old brother. She started attending a local young adult carer group in order to spend time with other people in a similar situation. Ella works with the Carers Trust on a range of projects and has also addressed MPs about the needs of young carers.
Carers Week is important because it raises awareness for all carers, whatever age they are. It also helps young carers, like Ella, to find the support and information that they may need.
As Ella says: “I want to raise awareness of the challenges carers face and to show other young people in a similar position to mine that they are not alone.”
The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme was established in 2014 by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society in recognition of The Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth. Find out more, visit queensyoungleaders.com(opens in new window).
