3 Ways MYTIME Are Supporting Young Carers Through Covid-19

It’s a difficult time for everyone, and it’s been challenging for us at MYTIME Young Carers too. Sadly, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and resulting lockdown regulations, all of our usual programmes designed to support young carers have had to be paused, and several of our community fundraising events have been cancelled. It’s been testing, certainly, but we’ve known from the start that our young carers would need our help more during this pandemic than ever before. Like businesses, families and individuals all over the world, we’ve had to adapt. Take a look here at three of the ways in which we’ve done just that and in which we continue to support young carers through these taxing times. 

1. MYTIME @ Home: Our brand new online service, MYTIME @ Home, has been designed to bring relaxation, entertainment and a sense of solidarity directly to the door of our young carers. Through this exciting new programme, we’re working with professionals all over the country – and even some celebrities too! – to curate a series of fun, bite-sized, online activities for young carers to enjoy from their homes. Each activity is designed to slot in easily around a young carer’s busy caring schedule, and to show appreciation for the incredible work that they do which, right now, is more important than ever. 

2. MYTIME Food Provision Plan: If daily tasks like food shopping have become enormous challenges for us adults over the last couple of months, then imagine how overwhelming they’ve become for young carers. Unable to drive or to order an online shopping delivery any time soon, too young to walk to the shops unsupervised, and caring for high risk individuals at home, many young carers have found themselves in an impossible position. That’s why we’ll be delivering the groceries to some of the young carers who are most in need in our local community over the coming months. By providing them with nutritious food, we’ll be able to relieve them of at least one of the pressures they’re now under, and also to help keep them and their families healthy and strong.  

3. The London Marathon 2.6 Challenge: The London Marathon - which our Executive Director, Krista Cartlidge, was due to be running in - may have been cancelled, but we didn’t let that stop us from raising awareness of young carers or from raising funds to spend directly on them. Whether by completing a 26 mile row or a 2.6 mile space hopper challenge, our team members and amazing support network pulled out all the stops for MYTIME that day, and in the end, we raised over £5000! We can’t wait to spend the money on a series of activity days for young carers to enjoy once all this is over.