Safe group’ plan for £62,000 grant

A CHILDREN and Families Project in Fenland has been given a £62,500 grant through the Princess Royal Trust for Carers.

The Ormiston Children and Families Trust has bases in Queen's Street, March, and Money Bank, Wisbech.

It is one of six organisations awarded the grant in the first of two rounds of the Young Carers Large Grants programme, funded by Comic Relief.

These funds will be used to develop a project which will help vulnerable and hidden young carers in Fenland.

The Fenland Young Carers project already works with carers under 21 whose lives are affected by someone in their family who suffers from an illness, disability, mental health or substance misuse, and their families with children aged seven to 13 whose lives are affected by substance abuse.

Jo German, development manager at the Ormiston Children and Families Trust, said: "The Young Carers team are really excited about setting up new groups for children aged 7-13 over the next three years.

"We will be working with local organisations who work with adults who have caring needs to develop the children's groups."

The project will develop 'safe groups' for children and young people to talk about life experiences, to form friendships and to offer opportunities to talk about the impact of substance abuse on their lives and their family, through participating in a range of activities, group and one-to-one provision.

They will also develop images of their experiences to be used as a future resource, to raise awareness with professionals including teachers, funders and decision makers about the children's experiences.

The learning generated by the project will be used as part of a toolkit of resources, which will be produced by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers for the benefit of young carers across the country.