Blue Peter Appeal for young carers

Replies

By incompletely

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 16 Nov 2007 08:43

There is something funndamentaly wrong with a country that is asking children to give away their surplus for other children, who through no fault of their own are young carers and are disadvantaged by this stoke of fate.

When I was young Blue Peter used to have appealls for war,famine, earthquake or flood affected countries in Africa or Asia, very needed causes that educated children to be charitable.
I know the old saying 'that charity begins at home', but should modern day Britain be in such a state that it needs to depend on Blue Peter to help plug the support of young carers?, .............a backward step in my eyes.

By CHERYL THE PERIL

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 16 Nov 2007 09:15

.
incompletely wrote "I know the old saying 'that charity begins at home', but should modern day Britain be in such a state that it needs to depend on Blue Peter to help plug the support of young carers?, .............a backward step in my eyes."

The Government is determined to take ever bigger steps backwards in an effort to distance
itself from the responsability of Social Care.

There is more and more talk about helping people to lead independent lives, and the help that is available in the community and charitable organisation to do this.

They might as well say "it's your problem, not ours, we've chucked a few quid into the pot, now get on with it".

They seem to infer that if a person is needing help there is some shame in this, they are not being independent enough.

The Blue Peter Appeal, like the Carers Christmas Appeal will for a short time draw attention to the plight of young and adult Carers.

But it still comes down to portraying decent hard working people and children as charity cases, and the public will soon forget.

No Britain shouldn't be in such a state.
.

By Tricia

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 16 Nov 2007 09:24

I have requested the PRTC remove the blue peter appeal for young carers posting.

I understand everyone is entitled to their opinion but I have seen that it has offended some carers on this web site,

All I was doing was passing on the information for other carers as Sparkle has on 'I care for'

UNFORTUNATELY BRITAIN IS IN SUCH A STATE AND EVEN IF THE BLUE PETER APPEAL IS SHORT LIVED AT LEAST IT HAS BROUGHT PUBLIC AWARENESS AND IT PROVIDES THOSE CHILDREN MUCH NEEDED SUPPORT.

IF WE WAIT FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO PUT THIS INTO PLACE IT WILL BE TOO LATE FOR OUR YOUNG CARERS FOR TODAY!

By SocialHeretic

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 16 Nov 2007 10:18

All carers need is a realistic income coupled with support services where needed to do what carers do ..... care.

Unfortunately , neither are being provided by the Government.

That does not extend to those under the age of legal responsibility ..... such duties should not be undertaken in the absence of adult supervision at the very least. By inference , appeals that this one tend to support the accepted view ..... which implies that children should take on caring duties irrespective of age or qualifications.

A child of 10+ needs his \ her LA's approval to do a paper round ..... but no approval is needed to " replace " a nurse \ a social worker \ an adult carer ?

This does not automatically lead to carers being classified as " Charity cases ". It is deliberate Government policy.

Perhaps , in future , carers are portrayed as victims of Government policy ...... which is the truth , and nothing but.

If that is unacceptable , perhaps the powers to be would explain that view directly to carers ?

By incompletely

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 16 Nov 2007 10:53

Sorry Tricia, theres is nothing wrong with raising the money, but the onus is now swinging to young Carers being a charity case, this should not be, young Carers are due respect and support but not tin this way. Is the country that poor that it can not fulfill its obligation to children without getting other Children to raise money?

There is something fundamentaly wrong on a society that expects, and accepts children as being an integral part off the care system, not for them the sum of £48.65 a week, but a what can Children in need raise?, yes thank the Celebs for what great work they are doing, but should it be down to Blue Peter and Pudsy to support young Carers?, what next......... sponsor a young Carer?, pay for a meal for a young Carer?, convenant schemes.......they are more tax effecient?.........

By CHERYL THE PERIL

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 16 Nov 2007 12:18

Tricia
I don't understand why you would take offence at any of the comments in this thread.
It is the necessity of the appeal that offends us , not your posting the information.
I've already sorted out 10 CD's to take to my nearest Nat West or Lloyds TSB bank.

There is no blame or critasism being leveled at yourself or any charity.
Your showing your concern by doing what ever you can do, whether thats posting info about appeals or by hands on direct help in day centres, what ever. Good for you.
I hope you enjoy it, I hope you get a lot of satisfaction in helping people.
I wish I could get out and about to do something similar on a regular basis. Because my life revolves around Caring for my mother with little help from Social Services I'm not able to.
My PC is my window into the world as is the other posters on here.
.

By Pineapple

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 23 Nov 2007 14:09

Hello there. New to this forum, hello one and all!

I’m a physically impaired lone parent (divorced very recently) with an eleven year old daughter. I have and will continue to read this debate with interest.

I am Vice-Chair of a small national Charity (a voluntary role) called Disabled Parents Network which supports disabled people who are parents or who are planning to become parents. We also work with professionals working alongside and with disabled parents.

A HUGE part of what we do is around informing and empowering disabled parents about the support that they may well be entitled to (from Social Services) in terms of their parenting responsibilities. Unfortunately our organisation also finds itself on many occasions having to educate and inform social care professionals about their role and statutory responsibilities in terms of providing support to disabled people in their parenting role.

I have a physical disability (I am Thalidomide impaired) and I use Direct Payments (money in lieu of direct services) provided to me to enable me to employ my own team of staff to support me. This is not just for the small amount of personal care I require, but also for running a household (shopping, food preparation, laundry, housework). Most importantly it supports me to be the parent I want to be. That may involve assisting me to take my daughter with a friend out to the seaside for the day, or for a picnic, or to a Theme Park.

My “care package” is relatively small – 12 hours a week or thereabouts, but the difference it has made to my life and that of my daughter is immeasurable. I am confident that she will not grow up to resent the fact that she had a parent who was disabled, but will remember her childhood as the happiest time of her life and that the wonderful relationship we have with one another will continue…. (mind you, she has yet to reach that wonderful adolescent stage yet!!)

There is ABSOLUTELY no doubt that without this support (which I’ve now had for five years), having become a lone parent, I would have no choice but to ask my daughter to do things for me that most eleven year olds would not have to do for their parents. That is not to say that she does not have chores to do (laying the table, tidying her room, putting dishes into the dishwasher).

There is also no doubt that having the support in place enabled me to take the decision to come out of an unhappy relationship and going it alone with my daughter.

My situation (unfortunately) is rather more unique than it should be, as so many disabled parents are frightened to ask for help or admit that they are struggling for fear of what might happen to their children or the assumptions that will be made about the child’s role within the family (the “Young Carer” label).

It has long been recognised (particularly since the publication in 2000 of the Social Services Inspectorate Report “A Jigsaw of Services”) that disabled adults who are parents needs are going unmet.

There is support available to disabled people so that they can fulfil their basic human right of choosing to have children in the first place, but then to support them to be the parent they want to be. It’s about spreading the word, providing adequate training on the issues for professionals and most importantly ensuring good practice in the way disabled people who are parents and their families are supported.

By CHERYL THE PERIL

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 23 Nov 2007 15:38

Hi Pineapple
Welcome to the forum
And thank you for adding your bit to the debate.

It's great to hear that the DP method has worked well for you. I gather that some people find the whole process of arranging DP quite daunting.
What did you think? Was it very complicated etc?

What other improvements do you think the Government could make to help disabled parents?
Should it be the Governments responsability to
provide the support etc?

Personally I think it should, mainly because they are in the position to ensure that the support services are in place country wide.
If charities, friends , neighbours etc can be
brought into the equation too, all well and good. But I don't think vulnerable people or the Government should be relying on charities, friends etc. That leads to unequal, unreliable help.

Cheryl x

By Pineapple

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 23 Nov 2007 23:06

Hi Cheryl, thanks for the welcome...

Yes, DP's can be daunting. It is basically employing and managing staff, and the most individuals haven't routinely had that kind of experience or don't possess management skills.

Luckily I rapidly developed my "management" and employer skills over the 5 years I have been using Direct Payments.

There hasn't been any help locally in terms of supporting me to use Direct Payments. Fortunately I have a friend who lives in Essex (I'm in Berkshire) who had been using DP's for a number of years, and her input and experience was invaluable.

I now employ a team of 5 people for my relatively small care package - one works 6 hours a week (3 x 2 hrs), one works twice a week (2 x 2hrs) and one works once a week (2 hrs). The remaining two members of staff are employed on a "casual" basis - eg, they have contracts, are paid a generous hourly rate because they do not have guaranteed work, and I usually ask them to work for me at very short notice.

Having so many staff works well for me in terms of covering holiday, sickness or in cases where a certain task may require more than one person - for example, I had major building work carried out 2 years ago, and had two members of staff helping with packing and unpacking the contents of half the house!

We have at last in Reading, got a Direct Payments Team (Manager, plus others) who's task will be to promote the take up of Direct Payments and assist people to set up their DP's. Hopefully a user group will be established too, to enable DP users to share their experiences and benefit from peer support.

I'm also a whizz on the PC (trained and worked as a secretary) so that all the paperwork side of tings isn't too difficult. I pay my staff monthly via an electronic bank transfer. I think there are lots of ways to make DP's much simpler (for example, employing people for less than 16 hours a week means you aren't responsible for paying their income tax and NI contributions... BUT nobody told me that, I just found it out from the Inland Revenue once I'd tried to register with them for PAYE....

Without the proper support mechanisms in place, disabled people and others using DP's are just being set up to fail...

DP's have made such a difference to my life.... I couldn't imagine living without the support I have now, although for years and years I managed independently.

Unfortunately middle age, physical deterioration and a serious RTA in 2002 which further reduced my mobility forced me into seeking the support. My daughter was just 5 then.

I now use my time and energy in far more constructive ways, like being involved with Disabled Parents Network and helping to bring about change for other disabled parents who have not been as fortunate as I have been in terms of securing the support they need.

Disabled parents often fall between the gaps in service provision. For example, a parent with a disabled child can get support from the Local Authority to get their child to school. However, a disabled parent who is unable to physically get their child to school cannot get any support to do so. Instead, they are threatened with legal action! Great huh!

Things are changing slowly... certainly from when my daughter was born over 10 years ago, I have seen lots of improvements and changes. However, there is still a long way to go!

By Tricia

Re: Blue Peter Appeal for young carers
Fri 23 Nov 2007 23:29

My daughter has been supporting a young man with Autism though Direct Payments. The advantage of Direct Payments is that you can choose who to have working for you.

There is also the dynamite project which is similar to direct payments

www.paradigm-uk.org

The above site will explain it better than I can.

This is another site which may be useful in checking out direct payments too

www.in-control.org.uk

And there is also Partners in Policymaking. this is a self Advocay course for adults with disabilities and parents of chidren with a disability.

www.nwtdt.com

(I am not sure when the next course is going to be ran but if people contact them and show that the demand is out there they may be able to get funding due to the demand)