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Dear (YC name),
Thank you for signing up to receive our e-newsletter specifically for young carers! You can find lots of useful information, tips, things to do and an opportunity to have your say on what you would like to see in these newsletters in the future. This newsletter’s theme is Mental Health Awareness, in the spirit of Mental Health Awareness Week ,that was held on 10-16 May this year. The theme of the week was ‘Nature’ and the benefits it has to our wellbeing.
Take a look at our website and social media pages below to keep up-to-date with us!
Best wishes,
Abi Squires
Young Carer Coordinator, Carer Support Dorset (CSD)
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This newsletter’s focus is Abi, our Young Carer Coordinator! She has been walking in the sunshine with her dog Layla. Layla is a 7 year old Hungarian Vizsla who loves long walks, time outside and her cat pals - Toby and Millie. For Abi, being able to walk Layla during the Covid-19 lockdown has been a great way to make sure she gets fresh air and gets out in nature.
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Abi met this lovely lady recently at Staunton Country Park and Farm. Going to local farms and country parks with her nieces is one of Abi's favourite things to do!
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We now have a Young Carer Instagram page!
We will be regularly posting updates, information and helpful tips for young carers. Head over and give us a follow to see what we are up to!
To find us, our handle is @carersupportdorset or you can just click on the Instagram logo on the left and it will take you straight to our page.
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What is Carers Week?
Carers Week is held every year and this year runs from 7-13 June. It aims to raise awareness of caring, help others to recognise the difficulties that some carers face and to celebrate the all round amazing contribution that carers make to the community.
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What can you do for Carers Week?
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Check out this video on the ‘Don’t do it alone’ campaign that Kooth is running. It’s all about speaking out when you are struggling and knowing that there is always someone to talk to whenever you need.
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Kooth is a free, safe and anonymous online wellbeing community for young people aged 11-18. Young people can get access to support and advice through monitored discussion boards, access to helpful articles, a personal journal and the chance to speak to a trained member of their team if you need a little bit more support.
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Picnic in the Parks
Picnic in the Parks is a great website that helps you to live well and love nature! You can explore the park where you can find inspiration and experiences that are nature-related across Dorset.
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June is Pride Month
Pride month is celebrated every year throughout June and is dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ communities across the world. Pride month aims to tackle homophobia and promote inclusivity. You can take a look at Space Youth Dorset, who aim to support young people who are or may be LGBTQ+.
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Giving young carers a voice
Check out this video made by Carers Trust and young carers to show the importance of giving young carers a voice on important issues. This video talks about mental health - let us know your thoughts!
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Insight Timer is a free meditation app used to help sleep, anxiety and stress. They have a designated space for young people who are struggling to get to sleep or feeling anxious. Download it from your app store completely free! Abi’s favourite meditation is ‘Guided Meditation for Sleep’ by Meg Cox which she plays whenever she has trouble getting to sleep.
Try these: Meditation for kids: here and Kids sleep: here
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Stormbreak is an online organisation that sets ‘Stormbreak Challenges’ for young people to do. They help you to develop different skills such as: believing in yourself, being hopeful, feeling that you matter in the world and taking care of yourself. We challenge you all to have a go at either the ‘bus stop meditation’ or the ‘move to the seasons’ Stormbreaks! If you want to have a look more at the Stormbreak website and learn about what they do, click on the logo.
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A positivity jar is a way of collecting good, happy memories. You can write down anything good that happened in your day, a compliment from someone or a joke. Then when you need to, pick one out and smile! Click on the button below for your downloadable resource to help you to create your very own positivity jar!
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Being out in nature can help you to switch off when you need some time to yourself, lift your spirits and help your mental health and wellbeing. Download your printable sheet below and tick off as many of these nature themed activities as you can over the next few months! We would recommend the bird feeder – guide here.
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If you’re feeling ambitious, take on the ’30 Days Wild’ challenge run by The Wildlife Trusts. 30 Days Wild runs from 1-30 June and invites everyone to do one thing ‘wild’ each day to get you out into nature experiencing all it has to offer. You can get really exciting packs of resources from the website when you sign up.
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We are always looking for input from our young carers on what they would like to see from Carer Support Dorset. If you have a few spare minutes, please fill out the form by clicking on the WWW button to give your opinions on what you would like to see in the next newsletters and some feedback for us. It will only take 2 minutes of your time and we would really appreciate it!
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If you need to get in touch with us, you can call or email using our details below.
Call: 0800 368 8349
Email: admin@carersupportdorset.co.uk
From the team at Carer Support Dorset
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