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What is The Junction Foundation?
T
he Junction Foundation is a local
based charity and company limited by
guarantee.
Our Mission
“To make a positive difference to the lives
of children, young people and their families in
the Tees Valley, through the provision of high
quality services, creating a sense of family,
community and belonging.”
What do we do?
The Junction provides access to information,
support and opportunities for vulnerable
children, young people and their families who
live in some of the most deprived communities
in the Tees area.
Why do we do it?
The Junction exists to make a positive
difference to the lives of vulnerable children,
young people and their families, to support
and enable them to deal with life’s challenges,
now and in the future and tackle the barriers
that prevent them from leading healthy,
fulfilling lives and striving towards reaching
their potential.
Who do we work with?
The Junction works with children and
young people up to 25 years of age who face
significant and complex problems often due
to social, economic and environmental factors
which are prevalent in our communities.
This includes children and young people
who are affected by mental ill health, debt and
money issues and who are, young carers and
young adult carers, homeless or in housing
need, unemployed, or misusing substances
such as drug and alcohol.
In short, children and young people who are
at risk of harm or not being able to reach their
potential due to the challenges they face
How do we make a positive difference?
We work in a number of complementary,
joined up ways including working with partner
agencies.
Our experienced, committed workers are
passionate about making a difference and we
use an outcome’s framework which enables
us to recognise the achievements and positive
A few words from the CEO
By Elleanne
W
e interviewed the
Chief Executive of The
Junction, Lawrence McAnelly.
We asked Lawrence a series of
questions about his job role at
The Junction.
Lawrence said: “I am responsible
for all of The Junction’s activities
which work with young people
and their families. I make
sure they do a good job, keep
people safe and make a positive
difference.”
We asked Lawrence to describe
what The Junction does.
Lawrence said: “We work
with people up to the age of 25,
this can include young carers,
young people with mental health
problems or young people that are
maybe homeless or have misused
substances or we sometimes help
them get work.
“Here at The Junction we try to
build a trusted relationship with
children and their family’s so they
will trust us, we don’t judge them
and everything they say to us is
in confidence and private because
it’s important that we do that and
try to bond with them.”
The Junction is a not-for-profit
charitable organisation and
funding can sometimes be a
challenge.
Lawrence says: “I think it is
really hard to get funding for
The Junction. We sometimes get
funded by competing with other
organisations to win contracts
against the Local Authority. BBC
Children in Need, Comic Relief,
The Big Lottery and the Lloyds
Foundation help us too; We have
to put grant applications in and
normally it takes quite a bit of
time to hear if we have been
successful. The Carers Trust is
also very helpful towards us.”
Finally, Lawrence said: ‘It’s
fantastic, the children we work
with want to give something back
by raising awareness of young
carers and they do this by making
a movie or even by taking part in
this newspaper report.
“It’s a fantastic chance to
take part in something like
this newspaper project in
particular. The newspaper
(Coastal View) will reach over
23,000 households and be read
by almost 60,000 people, how
impressive is that?”
outcomes of children and young people. We
support children and young people in a variety
of ways, through....
One to one support and mentoring.
Creating opportunities and
building participation.
Family Support.
Counselling.
Raising awareness.
Small targeted and therapeutic groups.
Social groups.
Between 1st April 2013 and 31st March
2014 The Junction worked directly with 643
individual vulnerable children and young
people, with complex needs, achieving a range
of positive outcomes.
We believe that by building a sense of
belonging, ownership and commitment,
increasing individual and community resilience
and fuelling self belief that children, young
people and their families are enabled to make
and take opportunities and achieve their
potential
The Junction believes in children and young
people, we listen and are
non-judgemental, our services are
confidential, accessible and we strive to make
a positive difference and achieve positive
outcomes.
Of these 643 individuals, 286 were young
carers, supported through the Redcar &
Cleveland Young Carers’ Service at The
Junction. This newspaper is aimed at raising
awareness of young carers, who they are, what
they get up to at The Junction and how does
a caring role/responsibility impact on a young
person?
Another key project is engage@thejunction.
Engage works with young people aged 14 – 25
affected by mental ill health and emotional well
being issues to deal with life’s challenges.
Inside
Learn more about young carers and hear
their stories.
See page 11 for more information on
engage@thejunction
See back page to find out about our ‘Run for
Resilience’ campaign, can you get involved
and make a difference?
The Junction Foundation
19 Station Road
Redcar
TS10 1AN
01642 756000
www.thejunctionfoundation.com
Charity number 1125578
Registered Company number 6648312.
LIKE us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/TheJunctionFoundation
The Board of
Trustees
By Erin O’Loughlin
A
s a registered Charity, The
Junction Foundation is governed
by a Board of Trustees.
Sue Little, Vice Chair of The Junction
Foundation’s Board spoke to us and
answered our questions.
Sue said: “The Board’s job is to provide
an overall direction to the Junction, to
make sure that the Junction is running
properly and they see that the money is
being spent in the right ways.
“There are seven board members,
each who bring something unique to
the board.”
Sue has been on the Board for two
years, but the Board itself has been
supervising the Junction since it opened,
in 2001. The Board itself doesn’t fund
the Junction, it mainly supports the
organisation. They are happy to oversee
the Junction, because the key focus is
to make sure children have a voice,
and each Board member has previously
worked with children in these specific
areas.
Sue said: “The best thing about the
Junction is the fact that everybody cares
and how supportive and committed they
are to helping young people understand
their situations.”
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
2
Meet our
young carers’ F
editorial team!
Elleanne McDonald
• Age 13
• Enjoys dancing, music and social
networking
• I liked this project because - It gave me
some more pride in my work
Teegan McLoughlin
• Age 12
• Likes football, running and music
• I liked this project because - I enjoyed
writing and getting better at my English
Why a newspaper?
rom public speaking to speaking on
the radio, from making movies to
TV appearances young carers are always
passionate about having a voice to raise
awareness for young carers, but they have
never written a newspaper before!
Comic Relief, Carers
Trust have a small
grants programme
to show what
young carers
can do! This
money is to develop activities and services that
will improve the well-being and aspiration of
young carers and young adult carers, through
tackling social exclusion and improving the
self-esteem of participants. We submitted an
application based on a newspaper project and
were pleased to find we were successful!
Next, a small group of passionate young
carers with an abundance of enthusiasm and
commitment agreed to take in the project, but
where to start?
Enter The Cavalry!! The group have been
very lucky to have had support and expertise
from some amazing people. The group would
therefore like to express their HUGE thanks
to
Lynne & Steve, Coastal View
Paul & Sue, Destinations Cafe, Saltburn
Carmen Thompson, local writer
Mini Monsterz, Eskdale Leisure, Ruswarp
Sophie McCormick
• Age 18
• Enjoys eating, pampering and socialising
• I liked this project because - During these
sessions I enjoyed meeting new people and
finding out how a newspaper works
Lilith Telford
• Age 12
• Loves eating, cross-country and being
loud
• I enjoyed this project because - I enjoyed
learning how to write a journal
Erin O’Loughlin
• Age 14
• Enjoys cadets, swimming and guitar
• I enjoyed this project because - I learnt
a lot about the other young carers and
more about what The Junction does
Courtney Winward
• Age 14
• Likes music, social networking and
lazertag
• I enjoyed this project because – I got the
chance to do it!
BACK - Left to right - Courtney Winward, Elleanne
McDonald, Sarah Harrison, Teegan McGloughlin,
Sophie McCormick, Paul & Sue.
FRONT - Left to right - Eileen Cowle, Erin
O’loughlin, Lilith Telford
Lilith’s Log
#1st Meeting
Date: 30th Jan 2014
Time: 4.30 - 6.00pm
Venue: Destinations Café, Saltburn
We met as a group for the first time and sat and talked
about our thoughts and ideas about the Newspaper .We
talked about what we want people to know about young
carers, what articles we were going to write and who was
going to do which article. By taking part in the newspaper
project we are also hoping to gain a Youth Achievement
Award.
#2nd Meeting
Date: 6th Feb
Time: 4.30 - 6.00pm
Venue: Destinations Café, Saltburn
During the February half term, young carers will be going
on trips to Mini Monsterz where we will be going along to
interview them for the newspaper, so we made plans for our
interviews and who would be going on which trip. After
this we had a visit from Carmen Thompson a local writer,
who has offered to work with us, to write some articles and
support us on our journey!
#3rd Meeting
Date: 13th Feb
Time: 4.30 - 6.00pm
Venue: Destinations Café, Saltburn
We made final plans for our interviews with young carers
on their trips to Mini Monsterz.
#Fun days
Dates: 17th, 19th and 20th Feb
Venue: Mini Monsterz, Ruswarp, Whitby.
These are the days we went to Mini Monsterz. We tagged
along and carried out our planned interviews and recorded
our evidence on an iPad. Not all fun for us, as we had to
work! But, we enjoyed doing the interviews and putting
our plans into actions!
#Young Adult Carers
Date: 18th Feb
Venue: An Italian Restaurant in Redcar
Sophie went out for Lunch with six young adult carers
and interviewed them about the differences from being a
young carer and being a young adult carer.
#4th Meeting
Date: 27th Feb
Time: 4.30 - 6.00pm
Venue: Destinations Cafe, Saltburn
Carmen came again, this time she brought chocolate!
Some of the group started to transpose their interviews from
the Mini Monsterz trips and again we had more interviews!
This time we interviewed Lawrence, CEO The Junction
#5th Meeting
Date: 13th March
Time: 4.30 - 6.00pm
Venue: Destinations Cafe, Saltburn
We got a visit from Lynne and Steve, Coastal View. Lynne
& Steve gave us some information about do’s and dont’s
when writing articles and also some info on the process of
creating a newspaper. We have loads more work to do but
this is really cool .Wish us luck for next time!
#6th Meeting
Date: 20th March
Time: 4.30 - 6.00pm
Venue: Destinations Cafe, Saltburn
Discussion - should we extend the newspaper from eight
pages to twelve!!
We each wrote a postcard about our own individual caring
roles for one of the newspaper pages.
More writing of articles!!! But we were helped along by
donuts and hot chocolate!
# Yummy x
#7th Meeting
Date: 27th March
Time: 4.30 - 6.00pm
Venue: Destinations Cafe, Saltburn
We spent the first half of the session finalising each of our
articles. Then Lynne and Steve arrived and we discussed
the layout and design of the newspaper. Carmen came with
the first draft of a series of stories. Carmen then spoke with
a couple of the group to start on our second story.
#8th Meeting
Date: 3rd April
Time: 4.00 - 6.00pm
Venue: Destinations Cafe, Saltburn
We ate chocolate while choosing headlines for each
article. After that we chose pictures to put in each article.
Then we presented our hard work to Lynne and Steve.
Finally we went through each individual young carer’s
story and selected the ones that tugged on our heart strings.
It was time to say a HUGE thank you and goodbye to Paul
& Sue of Destinations Cafe as most of our newspaper was
finished.
However, our journey does not end here, we still need
to finish our folders for our Youth Achievement Awards
and more importantly produce the newspaper and then
watch our paper being printed!! We are hoping there may
be an iron press or two to take back to The Junction to
commemorate our amazing project!
So that was our journey. Bye x
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
3
Who are Young Carers?
well being.’
However if you were to ask a young
carer to describe what they do, this
definition barely covers the surface.
Young carers often state:
By Sarah Harrison
Young carers are …
he official definition of a young
carer is as follows: ‘Young
carers are children and young people
under 18 who provide, or intend to
provide, personal care, assistance
or support to another family
member on a regular basis. They
carry out significant or substantial
caring tasks and assume a level of
responsibility which is inappropriate
to their age. Caring tasks can involve
physical or emotional care, or taking
responsibility for someone’s safety or
T
“People don’t know, don’t understand
or don’t realise how much young
carers do or the impact that it has on
their lives.”
“No one really knows what goes
on behind the scene, behind closed
doors.”
When asked, people will talk about
the practical assistance, i.e. cooking,
cleaning etc that a young carer gives to
their family member, and the emotional
impact and physical impact it is has on
them is normally discounted.
When I asked a group of young
carers which is harder to cope with the
practical tasks or the emotional impact,
instantly they all chorused ‘Emotional
impact’
One young carer, aged 13 wrote her
own definition of what it means to be
a young carer: “A young carer is a
child under the age of 18 who looks
after/helps a family member with a
disability on a regular basis. They carry
out tasks that help their sibling/family
member. These tasks, depending on the
disability, are high in responsibility and
very much appreciated. These tasks
can become very emotional and can
interfere with school/social life. Being
a young carer is a big responsibility
and such a good and proud thing to
be.”
Other young carers have said that
being a young carer often causes them
to take on the role of a parent that they
have to become mature very quickly,
and loose much of their childhood. A
young carer said that often her friends
will come to school and say: “The
worst thing has just happened to me!”
And she sits there and thinks, “well
actually, no it didn’t.”
Being a young carer can have a
negative Impact on a young person,
such as:
� Missing out on a social life,
become isolated and lack social
skills
� Can impact on the whole family
and cause family breakdowns
Sibling carers
O
ne particular
group are
sibling carers,
young people
affected by living
with a sibling who
has a disability,
illness, mental
health issue or
substance misuse.
Sometimes sibling
carers can get
overlooked, especially
if there is an
able parent or
guardian. Being
a young carer is
not just about carrying
out practical tasks such as shopping,
cleaning etc a huge impact of a caring
role is the emotional impact.
We met with a group of sibling carers
to hear their views
J, aged 15
“I find it hard to bond with my brother;
he doesn’t know how to show affection
like other children. My brother has
Autism; it is a mental disability which
affects his learning, behaviour and
speech. My brother can only speak
certain phrases, isn’t toilet trained
and doesn’t understand it when things
don’t go his way – so he gets upset and
has meltdowns. Autistic people don’t
produce enough melatonin – which
means that they don’t sleep very well
without medication; sometimes my
brother will wake us up at night which
is hard when I have to go to school the
next day.
S, aged 17
• You don’t get as much attention
• Lose out on going on holiday
• Can’t get picked up from places
because Mum has to look after
brothers.
• Can’t leave things near them
• Have to hide things
• They can’t play out so I don’t get a
break in my house
• Hard to go to sleep when they
are hyper
•They wake me up
sometimes
B, aged 15
“I feel like you
always have to keep
an eye on her to make
sure she is ok. The
Junction usually helps
me to have a break
from everything.
Some people
don’t realise
how hard it
is because the
way my sister
reacts to some things are hard to cope
with, but you learn to deal with it.”
H, aged 15
“It impacts on your social life because
you don’t want to leave your Mam to
do it alone and you worry about them
at school and when they go out with
friends in case they get into a situation
they can’t handle. You’re awake till late
wondering if they are lonely.”
E, aged 13
• Keeping you awake till very late
• Can be awkward inviting friends over
if sibling is very restless, agitated
• Sometimes affects you going out, not
being able to get there because Mum
has to stay home.
• Feeling left out because they need a
lot of caring for
• Not getting the older sibling guidance
that friends have
• The Junction helps with handling
these emotions, also gives time to
relax and get away.
C, age 14
“Living with someone with a disability
can be hard, you can get sleepless nights
and have no time to yourself, but it is the
best feeling ever, it is really rewarding.
It can be hard but seeing their smile is
the best!”
� Education - Poor school attendance,
achievement, constantly late
� Anger/fear/worry/stress/tiredness
� Mental ill health
� Victims of bullying
� Attention seeking
� May turn to substance misuse
& risk taking behaviour, due to
vulnerability or as coping strategies
� Difficulties dealing with
authority
But, there are also many positive
impacts of being a young carer:
� More confidence
� Developing life skills
� Strong family bonds
� Proud
� Mature
� Sense of achievement
� Sensitivity and understanding
� Resilience
Any child or young person can
become a young carer at the
click of a finger.
All it takes is an accident or an
illness.
It might be short term, it might be
long term, or sometimes it’s for life.
The Junction’s Children & Young
People’s Carers Service offers support
to reduce the negative impact of caring
through a variety of support methods,
targeted to meet a young person’s
individual needs.
Family Support - Support for young
carers & young adult carers’ family
members.
One to one support – Opportunity
for young carers & young adult carers’
to talk through issues affecting them,
developing coping strategies, building
resilience and working towards
achieving positive outcomes.
Outreach support – Predominantly
aimed at young adult carers age 14 – 25
offering practical & emotional support
in their local community.
Counselling - enabling young carers
& young adult carers to explore the
long term and root causes which
negatively impact on them.
G ro u p w o r k a n d a c t i v i t i e s providing respite from their caring
role with their peers in a safe,
trusted, understanding and supportive
environment
Who are young adult carers?
By Sophie McCormick
e define young adult carers as people aged 18-25
who provide or intend to provide care, assistance or
support to another family member on an unpaid basis.
The person receiving care is often a parent but can be a
sibling, grandparent, partner, own child or other relative
who is disabled, has some chronic illness, mental health
problem or other condition (including substance misuse)
connected with a need for care, support or supervision.
I met up with some Young Adult Carers (YAC) for a meal
and to interview them, we discussed the changes between
responsibilities and life since turning 18.
What changes when you become a Young Adult
Carer?
The group said very different things; some said it’s “extra
responsibility”.
S, age 19 stated: “My responsibilities change and get worse
every week, as time goes by my Dad gets more ill and my
Mum gets more depressed. I don’t think my family could
function if they didn’t have me,” but sometimes it “depends
on your role and what you do.”
“It can be different if you are a parent carer or sibling
carer.”
A couple of the group who care for siblings said their caring
role has reduced, because they have parents who take on the
main caring role, N, 18 said her Mum had given up work
to become a full time carer therefore the impact on her has
reduced significantly and she is looking forward to hopefully
going away to university.
A parent carer may not have that choice, especially if they
are the main carer.
Some of the group said it can become particularly difficult
when you turn 18 because “all of a sudden lots of services
stop and they don’t start up again until you are 21, there
isn’t any concrete support, I think there is some, but it isn’t
easy to find.”
The group unanimously agreed that: “There needs to be
more support for Young Adult Carers, but it needs to be more
often similar to Young Carers support, we need something
that is easy to access.”
How does being a YAC affect your education?
Young Adult Carers education can be effected because
of their caring role, K, age 18 states: “it has affected my
education.”
Many Young Adult Carers find it hard to do course work
at home because of the needs of the cared for person. C,
age 18: “I have an extra worry because I’m at university
and if anything happens I am an hour away,” C, age 16
W
said: “It affects my college life because I get into silly
arguments when I’m stressed because of worries at
home.”
“Lots of Education/training providers don’t understand, they
have limited knowledge and they don’t spend time trying to
help us.”
C, age 18 said: “We had a university lecture and the lecturer
said: ‘A young carer is someone who has a child under the
age of 16.” WHAT?!?!
This shows a total lack of understanding within education.
What do Young Adult Carers need?
Access to a “family worker, in case something changes
for the worse”. Also, we would like “something that is for
both Young Carers & Young Adult Carers so when we turn
18 we don’t have to change and if there is a Young Carer &
Young Adult Carer in the same home then they can access
the same service.”
“Counselling and out reach, one to one support,” we
would appreciate.”
“Having a Facebook page where we can arrange to meet
each other and go for a drink or something.”
“Also, social occasions set up so if someone new started they
can get to know us all and so we can actually meet up.”
Why is The Junction special?
K, age 18 “Without The Junction I wouldn’t be here right
now, it’s as simple as that.”
“I find it so rare to find a service that has knowledge and
cares, the staff aren’t just there because its their job, they
actually care.”
Do you think that the term ‘young carer’ is what confuses
people, if it was called sibling/parent carers would it be more
easily understood?
“I think it would be hard because the term ‘Young Carer’
is so broad, it covers everything.”
4
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
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The Junction - A mile in our shoes
5
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Introduction
W
hilst the bare statistics can tell
us that nearly a quarter of a
million children in England and Wales
are Young Carers, they can tell us
that this will affect their educational
attainment and life chances but the
real lives of Young Carers remain
hidden.
What is the life of a Young Carer like
moment to moment? This collection
of fictionalised short stories was
created by Young Carers working with
writer Carmen Thompson to give you
a snapshot image into the life of a
Young Carer. Whilst these stories are
fictionalised they faithfully represent the
real challenges, feelings and moments in
the life of a Young Carer.
Where were you
this morning?
By Elleanne McDonald
M
y mum is at the bottom of the
stairs when I wake up.
She looks very far away from me. All I
need to do is go downstairs to reach her.
But she is already too far gone inside
the panic. As I walk towards her I can
see she is shaking, she doesn’t see me. I
call her – Mum, I call her name, Marie. It
sounds wrong. She can’t hear me yet. So
I make sure all of the curtains are closed
then I go inside the panic to find her. I
start talking about when I was little. I
show her old pictures of herself. I tell her
she doesn’t have to go out today if she
doesn’t want to. I make the breakfast and
keep talking to her. My voice is a
thread between us, it is thin like cotton,
not thick like rope but it is enough so she
can she climb back up, not all the way to
the top. Sometimes the fear can last for
days, sometimes we can both
get stuck inside it and I think
we will never get out. But
today she eats her breakfast.
I check the house and make
sure all the curtains are tightly
closed so no light will get in and
she will feel safe.
By the time I get to school I have
already missed registration. The
teacher asks me, “Where were you
this morning?”
I don’t answer.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The Box
By Sophie McCormick
I
try to open the door to my house but it is
locked and the curtains are closed. This
is how I know it’s a bad day. I can hear the
screaming, it is so loud my mum and dad
can’t hear me knocking on the door. I sit
for a while on the front step. I don’t want
to go in just yet.
There is so much noise I am invisible. I can
hear something breaking like glass. Then I can
hear my mum and dad shouting at one another.
They have been frozen in this same argument
forever. It’s always about my two little
brothers. It is not their fault. They can never
say sorry because they don’t understand why
they are angry and why they break things.
They have SLD, severe learning difficulties,
that’s what it’s called but it means that they
don’t understand why they are hurting us,
me. So I wait outside the door for a moment
longer, I put the anger and chaos in a box and
I don’t ever look into it.
I forget about the box when they are good,
when all they want to do is cuddle, they are
just like children. Behind the locked door the
house shakes. If the door were unlocked they
would try to run away. They did run away. I
can feel my cold sore feet on the pavement
now from chasing them up the street to bring
them home. But it is me who never really
comes home.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Storm Damage
By Teegan
G
raves disease is worse than it sounds.
My mum’s eyes can pop out but
I’ve gotten used to it. It’s one of the signs
of the disease. It makes her cry, it’s called
lacrimation. It’s part of the disease too. But
sometimes she just cries and it’s not part of
the disease, it’s like a rain storm which soaks
her through.
On a morning I have to wake her up, even
though she’s really tired, even though she
doesn’t sleep. It’s like her body has turned
against her. When I get my sister up it’s like
a poking a storm in the eye. She’s angry all
of the time. She shouts at me, she shouts at
mum. She’s younger than me so I take care
of her and try to calm her down.
It’s a bit like living inside a storm in my
house. There are days when it is full of light
shaking the house inside out and there are
days when the storm has blown itself out and
the house is full of light, the good kind.
Tammy’s Story
M
y brother doesn’t really sleep. He’s
what you might call a night owl.
His medication means that he sleeps for
four hours. It’s 2 am in the morning now.
Alex is still jumping on his bed. When I
go into his room he throws a toy train at
me. He doesn’t know it hurts me. Alex is
sixteen but his brain is stuck in the time
of being four, he still has toy trains and
likes children’s programmes. He lives in
a different world than me, with different
rules about what you eat and how you
say ‘I love you’. Sometimes our worlds
are close like tonight. Sometimes they’re
not. I don’t want to wake my mum, she
really needs her sleep, so I sit down and
play trains with him.
At 7 am, it’s time to wake up my mum,
Louise. I need a whole stick of concealer
under my eyes to stop my bags from
showing. Mum needs help every day to get
her ready. She lives in a different world too.
On a good day her whole routine starts with
getting her dressed, getting her medication
and making her breakfast. By the time all of
this is done I only have five minutes to get
changed and ready for school.
I’m late when I arrive for school so my
teacher gives me a C2 detention. I just want
to be invisible but I can hear them sniggering
at me as I walk to my seat. They all laugh
except for Michael; he sits quietly softly,
sweetly and silently. I put my head down
on the desk, not because I am tired, I pull
my hair around me, hiding. The bell rings
loudly.
I walk to class hoping that I have brought
the right books for lessons today when Angel
knocks into me, my bag falls off my shoulder,
spilling out all of my stuff on the floor. The
others, they just keep walking, like nothing
has happened, kicking my stuff. A pair of
feet stops in front of me and I think what
can they do now? Then someone is picking
up my stuff from the corridor. It’s Michael.
He gives everything back except for my
book, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in
the Night Time’. It’s not a school book, he
knows this, it’s about a boy with autism. I’m
reading it because I am trying to understand
why my brother does the things he does, what
it’s like to be in his world. Michael looks at
me and tells me he is reading it too, he tells
me he has a brother. That’s all. We both go
to English. I can hear them laughing, but it
doesn’t matter. They don’t get it. They only
have to understand one world. Michael sits
on the desk next to mine. For the first time I
really look into his eyes they are gentle but
also closed like mine.
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
6
By Teegan, Elleanne & Lilith
O
n Thursday 20th February we joined a group of 20 young carers age
5-9 on a trip to Mini Monsterz in Ruswarp.
On this trip the young carers enjoyed playing on the soft play area, feasting
on chips, burgers, hotdogs, jelly and ice cream. In the afternoon the young
carers got creative painting pottery. Whilst on this trip we took the opportunity
to talk to them and find out their views on The Junction, being a young
carer and to find out why it is important to have a Young Carer’s Project.
Here’s what they said –
Do you think The Junction is fun?
• Yes.
Why?
• We get to go places with them.
• It’s always planned and you get to try new things
• Get to do things you wouldn’t do
Do you get to go places at home?
• Not really.
Have you ever asked to go anywhere
with your parent/ guardian?
• Yes, but we never have any money or we are too busy with school.
Do you like getting a break from home?
• Yes.
Why?
• Because I always get stressed whilst looking after my Mam.
• You can get a break and then go back and tell them
what you have been doing and how it was exciting.
• Because my brother taps me all the time
• Get away from home and have time off
• Sometimes I get angry and frustrated at home and need a break
• Because my sister is always naughty and shouts at me.
• Because my sister is about 15 and has lots of problems
What is the best bit about
coming to The Junction?
• Made new friends
• Talking to new people
• Get to meet young carers
• Making new friends and talking
about how they find their sisters
• Getting a break from home
Do you feel comfortable and happy coming?
• Yes
Do you feel safe?
• Yes
How is the junction special?
• It gives you a break from home.
• It makes my life easier being a young carer
because at home a young carer is always helping
parents around the house and outside.
• The staff
How does the junction help you?
• It helps me by giving me a break from
home and letting me meet new people.
What would make being a young carer easier?
• More support
I
By Courtney & Chloe
n the February half term we tagged along to Mini Monsterz to
interview 16 young carers aged 9 – 11. The group were having
fun playing laser tag.
We interviewed the young carers to see what they think about The
Junction and to find out why young carers projects are important.
We asked the following questions:
Do you look forward to coming The Junction?
• Yes, because its fun
• Get to meet new young carers
• Is fun and we get to do lots of activities
• Make loads of new friends
• Yes, because you get to have a break from caring
• Yes, It’s my happy place
How does it make you feel when
you come to The Junction?•Excited
•Very proud
•Happy, because I get to make new friends
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
A day out at
7
W
By Erin & Sophie
e decided to take a group of young carers, age
11 - 14 to Mini Monsterz over half term and
ask them a few questions.
We had lots of things to ask, but we wanted to know
one specific question: Why is The Junction special?
Do you look forward to
coming to The Junction?
Yes, it is fun to see friends and have a break from
home. Also every week is fun and there is always
something new to do
How does it make you feel when
you come to The Junction?
Happy and excited, knowing there’s always
friends/people there if you need to talk about
anything at home or school.
What is your favourite thing
about The Junction?
That everyone cares about you, knowing that no
one will make fun of you or laugh.
Does The Junction help relieve stress?
Definitely! It gives you friends, makes you feel
happy and you can share what’s happening and listen
to everyone else.
Is it important to have a break from home?
Yes because if not you would feel very upset and
alone, also very stressed, as you have little time to
chill out.
What would your home life be
like without The Junction?
Boring, stressful, lonely
Does it help your family members when you come
to The Junction?
Yes because it is important for everyone to get a break,
not just you.
Does school help you in the same
way The Junction does?
Definitely not, would love if
school helped out more.
The difference is The
Junction don’t force you
into doing things and don’t
shout or get angry.
What makes The
Junction special?
All the staff, everybody cares
and no one will ever judge you
for you.
•Stress free
•Relaxed, it stops us from arguing
•Special because you are helping your family, being a young carer
and that is what being a young carer is all about, looking after your
family
What’s your favourite thing about The Junction?
• That we can all hang out
• That we get to play fun things like pool, table tennis and the x box
• The staff, they’re caring and kind
• Making friends and getting to meet new people
• That they put things in place to make us happy
Does The Junction help you relieve stress?
• Yes, because you get to be with other people
• Yes because it gives me some ‘me’ time
• Yes and its important too
• Yes, because I get to do fun things that I normally wouldn’t get to
at home
• When I’m at home it feels like steam is coming out of my ears, when
I’m at The Junction there’s no steam.
Is it important to get a break from home?
• Yes, because we need our own time
• Yes, because it’s nice being away from some of the unhappy things
that happen at home
• Yes, because you can’t be working all the time
• Yes, because we are so busy I never get a chance to do things I
want to do
How would you feel without The Junction?
• Angry, stressed-out
• Helpless, like there wouldn’t be anyone to go to for help
• Sad, because that means you won’t get a break
• You won’t get new friends
• Sad because when we get home we are bored but when we are here
we have a fun time
• When we are at home its boring and when we are at The Junction
we get to do fun activities and aren’t stuck in the house
• Like a part of me has disappeared
What would your home life be with without The Junction?
• Boring, miserable because they will have to look after a family
member without a break
• Boring because you will have nothing to do except be around your
family, which is sometimes sad if they are having a bad moment
• Not very happy, stressful
Does it help your family member
when you come to The Junction?
• Yes it does, because it means they have one less person to look after
• It gives them peace
• It gives my family a break
Does The Junction help
the people you care for?
• Yes because they help you know what to do
• It has taught me how to be calm
• Yes, because my mum gets really stressed out, which she can’t
help, and when I’m not around it gives her time to herself and helps
her relax
Does school help you the same way The Junction does?
• No, because they don’t know about caring like The Junction does
• Yes, because they have after school clubs that I can go to
• No, Because in school we don’t get the resources to help us like
The Junction gives us – like appointments where we can talk about
our feelings
• No, because we get bullied at school, but the people at The Junction
understand and are supportive and we don’t get bullied there
In what three words would you describe The Junction?
• Caring, amazing and helpful
• Fun, cool, stress free
• Class, exciting, happy
• Awesome, glorious, peaceful
• Outstanding, joyful, supportive
• Calm, fantastic, lovely
What makes The Junction special?
• It gives you time away from your family
• It’s helpful
• Because you get to learn new and different stuff
• They give you a break from home
• They help you to meet new people who are in the same position as you
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
8
Young Carers Staying Safe!
A
t the beginning of 2014, The Junction
ran a series of safety sessions focusing
on antisocial behaviour, road safety,
electrical safety and fire safety.
The sessions were supported by the Police
Property Act Fund and Redcar and Cleveland
Healthy Communities Fund. The sessions
were run at local youth centres including
Grangetown Youth Centre, Guisborough
Youth Centre and TunedIn Redcar. Young
Carers of all ages attended and took part in
the sessions.
Many of the Young Carers undertake
responsibilities that would be deemed
unsuitable for their age. Therefore it is
important for them to develop basic and
essential life skills from an early age. A lot
of Young Carers also spend a significant
amount of time supervising younger siblings,
therefore should be equipped with the skills
to minimise risks and act appropriately in
emergency situations.
Lifeboat Visit
A
group of Young Carers
visited the Lifeboat
Station in Redcar and learnt
how to stay safe in the water.
They were also shown what
happens in a rescue operation.
The Young Carers enjoyed
getting a break from home
and learning new skills. Some
even said they were keen to
become a Lifeguard volunteer
when they were older.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland Police Barry Coppinger,
presenting a cheques to the young carers
Electrical Safety
B
ob Knox from the Northern Power
Grid showed the young carers of all
ages the dangers of electricity. He explained
what electricity can do, and what the potential
damage of misusing electricity could be. The
young carers helped to identify risks around
the home and the community. They also learnt
how electricity works by creating their own
circuits.
Fire Safety
he fire brigade came to each session to discuss fire safety with the young carers. They
discussed how to be safe in the home, including kitchen fire safety and the importance
of smoke alarms. They discussed what to do in an emergency, and helped the Young Carers
to develop emergency Fire safety and evacuation plans.
T
Anti-Social Behaviour
T
he Redcar and Cleveland Anti-Social Behaviour Team visited some Young Carers to teach
them about appropriate behaviour and the consequences of acting inappropriately. Some
Young Carers are at high risk of social exclusion due to isolation, the lacking of social skills and
having a negative emotional wellbeing. This all makes them vulnerable to partaking in AntiSocial behaviour and it is important to reinforce positive social behaviour at a young age.
Road Safety
Heartstart – First Aid
S
ome Young Carers also took apart in a HeartStart training course, where
they learned essential emergency first aid skills. They were shown
different scenarios where emergency first aid was needed, and how they
should act if faced with similar scenarios. The Young Carers then had the
chance to practice implementing their new skills.
Y
oung Carers were also taught about Road Safety, by Rod Morris, including how to
cross the road safely and how to maintain and ride a bike carefully. Young Carers are
often placed in situations where they will be out on the streets by themselves, doing shopping,
taking siblings to school or running errands for their family. It is therefore essential for them
to know how to know how to act safely on the roads.
These safety sessions had a great positive impact on all of the Young Carers lives. One
Young Carer, aged 8, made a comment that sessions ‘were interesting and they have helped
me learn how to not hurt myself and be safe’, another Young Carer, aged 9, said: “It has made
my life safer.”
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
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9
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
10
The making of ‘A Mile in Our Shoes’ the Movie
“It can bring a
room to silence
and tears to
people’s eyes!”
By Eileen Cowle
L
ooking back to the start of this
project, we really could not have
envisaged the impact this short movie
would have around the world.
It started out as just another project; we
received a call from MFC Study Support,
based at the Riverside Stadium asking if
we had a group of young people who would
like to make a movie. We thought, great,
an opportunity for young carers to learn
something new, take a break from their
caring role and mix with others in similar
situations.
Over the summer of 2010 the group met
everyday for two weeks to work on the
project.
When the movie was finished we didn’t
“We we decided
to do something
very close to
our hearts”
By Chloe Appleby
I
n 2010 we were approached by MFC
Study support and asked if we wanted
to take part in producing a movie, it could
have been about anything we wanted but
we decided to do something very close to
our hearts, something which will show
people around the world what some
children do on a daily basis, to make
really show publically until Lynne &
Steve, Coastal View arranged to have a
fundraising event in Moorsholm to raise
funds for The Junction.
At the event Lawrence, The Junction
CEO stood up, gave a short speech about
The Junction and young carers, then for the
first time showcased the movie.
When the movie had finished the room was
completely silent! We really did not know
what to expect, but from this first showing
the reality hit us that GOSH! This movie is
powerful; it can bring a room to silence and
tears to people’s eyes!
From that day we have shown the movie
in numerous locations all with the aim of
raising awareness and all with the same
reaction, silent rooms and tears in eyes.
The movie has gone from strength to
strength since that first showing and has been
nominated for and won awards from London
to Europe, from Europe to California!
As an organisation we are extremely proud
of this movie, but even more proud of the
inspirational group of young people who
created it! Well Done!!!
The movie is on YouTube and I would
urge everyone to take 10 minutes of their
time to watch it.
people more aware.
We did it about young carers, what we go
through and how it has a big impact on our
lives. We called it ‘A mile in our shoes.’ Ten
young carers took part to tell us how they
look after their family member and how it
has impacted them.
At the beginning we sat in a group and
discussed what we could include into the
movie we decided that it had to include
interviews with each young carer to show
different sides to been a young carer and
different situations we are all in.
We went to different places like Whitby,
Redcar beach and we explored the Boro
grounds. We experimented using different
camera’s viewing things from different
angles and different height. We also got to
film little scenes we made up to see what
they looked like.
Steph, age 15
in the movie,
age 19 now!
My Experience
A
s a group of young carers we were
given the opportunity to make a
movie in the summer of 2011. When sat
down and asked as a group ‘’ what would
you like to make a movie on,’’ we were all
unsure. There was a lot of discussion then
it was agreed that we should make the
movie on our lives as being young carers,
as it is something we all know. Then we
started making the movie.
While making the movie I gained a lot
of knowledge around videoing correctly
and how movies are made. I also gained a
lot of friendships with people I had never
met before, along with creating more bonds
from people I already knew from the Young
Carers Project. From making the movie
I have also a lot more understanding in
different caring roles and how we can all be
the same by caring for someone but all have
our own unique stories. The movie project
also helped make me more confident and
built my self-esteem.
The movie has a massive impact on other
people when we play it to them, the room
goes silent after the movie has been played
and the feedback we get off the movie is
great, no one ever says anything bad about
the movie it is all positive feedback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZaN7CVd_Ms
*** Nominated for First light Movie Award ***
The Voice of youth category
*** 3rd Place in the MY HERO Film Festival California ***
Student/Mentor Category
*** 1st Place in the European Independent Film Festival 2013 ***
The European Youth Excellence Award in Filmmaking
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
11
Who we are, what we do
& why we do It!
ENGAGE@THEJUNCTION PROJECT
By Ellen Mackay, Engage@
thejunction Project Coordinator
‘What You See Isn’t
Always What You Get’
The Movie
W
e are incredibly proud to have worked with a group of very
influential young people in the last six months who have taken
part in making a short film which tells ‘their story’.
The young people, who have taken part in this film which has been titled
‘What You See Isn’t Always What You Get’, have a shared passion to
tackle the stigma that’s attached to mental health problems. This film has
given each one of them a voice and a fantastic opportunity to help reduce
discriminatory views and stigma.
S
ometimes the word ‘Mental Health’
can scare people. People can hear
these words and think ‘a negative’.
However the term Mental Health in
fact is a term used to describe how
emotionally healthy we actually are.
Life can throw some pretty big things
at us from time to time and how we
deal with these demands can affect how
mentally healthy we are.
The Engage@thejunction Project is a
free and confidential service available to
young people aged 14 to 25 years old who
Please check this film out through the following link
https://vimeo.com/87385919
first came to The Junction back in
January 2013 after having a big
mental break down.
Social anxiety disorder had always
been with me ever since I began
secondary school and eventually it
progressed into depression. I had tried
to get help with the social phobia in
the past but it wasn’t helping me in the
slightest and so I stopped the therapy
after a few months. The thing you need
when getting help for a mental illness
is someone you can ‘click’ with and
feel comfortable telling your thoughts
and feelings to. I just wasn’t able to do
that with the psychologist I was seeing
so decided to give up and hope that
eventually my problem would disappear
in time. They didn’t. Over the years I
pushed myself away from people and
hid away from the world. I started
feeling like I didn’t belong and that my
whole life’s purpose was only to go to
work and nothing more. Everything
that seemed to come naturally into
the hands of other people never came
into mine and so I didn’t feel like an
ordinary person. I began self harming
because I hated myself and little things
people said to me in the past started to
play on my mind. The worst thing I’ve
been told was that I’m going to die a
sad and lonely old man. That hurt a lot,
but felt like it was true, a kind of curse
that had been put on me. Eventually I
had had enough, so taking a rope with
me into the woods; I planned on ending
my life. While I was trying to find a
tree to climb my mum phoned up my
mobile. She knew I hadn’t been very
happy recently and was worried about
what I was doing because it just wasn’t
like me to randomly go out somewhere
and not say where. I’ve never told her
what I was planning to do but I think
she already guessed and began to cry.
Hearing her cry really got to me, I was
terrified at the thought of what I was
about to do to myself and my family. I
completely broke down. I needed help
but at the same time thought I was too
far-gone for it.
Soon after, I was referred to The
I
By Craig Mohan
Cycle. Tick. Tock.
icking away the seconds,
which themselves stretch
into minutes, hours, days, weeks,
years; your life ticks away in the
background while you immerse
yourself in your interpersonal
relationships, wasting time and
energy on a reality that is, was, and
always will be transient.
My desperation was so absolute
that I found myself begging anyone
who would listen, even if their
existence was debateable, to provide
me with someone who would finally
understand me, care for me, maybe
even love me. Nobody answered.
Although you may wonder
if anybody in your world has
followed the same path as you, has
experienced the same pain of love
and loss, you can be certain that it
is an impossibility.
Start afresh. Rebuild your life and
T
make it what you want it to be. Let
others fall in love with you as you
would fall in love with them and
hold them close.
Discover yourself again. Make
peace with the past and embrace the
promise of a brighter future.
I found sanctuary in the new
and the mysterious. Kindred souls
unrecognised for years gone by, pure
and simply carved from nothing to
distend the void between my world
and yours, mirroring the past and
paving a path to fulfilment.
The dreams that had left my
subconscious so many years ago
returned with a vibrant life that
demanded my attention. And along
the same thread came the urgency
to gratify a long dormant need to
express the feelings that had been
and would ever remain engrained.
Love and hope emerging from the
dark, severing the claggy claws
which had them ensnared.
beach walks. We recognise the positive
impact that these group activities can have
upon a young person who is feeling lonely
and lacking confidence in their abilities.
Although our office base is Station
Road, Redcar, we offer a flexible service
outside of the building in the Redcar
& Cleveland area. It’s not unusual for
workers to support people in their own
home, in school/college or in community
based settings. It’s our priority to ensure
young people are comfortable in where
they access support from so we try to be
as flexible as possible to meet the needs
of young people.
Mike’s Story
“Taking a rope with me
into the woods; I planned
on ending my life”
Extracts from ‘Cycle’
may be going through a tough time – may
be at school, at home, with relationships
etc. The Engage Project worker will aim
to help and support young people who
are trying to deal with these difficult
times by offering one-to-one support
which is flexible to meet the needs of the
young people. The project also offers a
confidential counselling service where
young people can access a safe place to
explore their thoughts and emotions which
may be linked to significant life events.
In addition to this the project offers social
activities for young people to access as a
group – for example bowling, city outings,
Junction. I doubted anyone could
help me after genuinely believing
I had been cursed. I’d never
heard of The Junction before and
thought it would just be another
big waste of time. I was wrong.
When I arrived outside the
building I was scared to get out
the car so I waited for five minutes
until I finally built up the courage
to go inside. When I got to the
door I thought ‘Ok... How am I
supposed to get inside?’ I was
too scared to press the intercom
in case it wasn’t there for me to
press! I looked in the windows
and nobody was there. ‘Well this
was pointless’ I thought. ‘I can’t
even get inside! I might as well
just leave it.’ Just then a woman came
through one of the doors so I knocked
on the window. She welcomed me inside
and was very kind even though she
didn’t even know me. I always thought
people looked down on me but she
seemed nice. She asked me a few details
and then soon Hannah came into the
room and introduced herself. She was
kind and friendly too. ‘Well the people
here seem cool.’ I thought. ‘Maybe it
won’t be so bad after all.’ I was still
nervous about what I was getting into
but I felt welcome and even though my
nerves were getting the better of me not
once did I feel they were judging me
or thinking I was weird because of the
crazy stuff I had done.
After that assessment and meeting
a few of the workers I felt more
comfortable about the whole thing.
Hannah was cool; I got on with her
really well. She worked with me over
my feelings and anxieties. She taught
me how to do stuff I had been too scared
to do before like buying my own things
from a shop, making eye contact and
finding ways of coping with my way of
thinking. It started to make me realise
maybe there was more to life after all.
Unlike the psychologist I saw when I
was at school I felt I could talk to her
about things easily and felt she genuinely
cared. Not that I was just another job for
her. I had some downfalls but she was
always there to pick me back up and put
me back on the right track.
Around May, Hannah invited me to
join a group The Junction was making
with other young people. I couldn’t wait!
I had been sat in my room for years with
no real contact or friendships and it was
something I needed. I made some really
good friends at the group who meant
the world to me. I finally felt happy and
began feeling like an ordinary person at
last! I finally had found something worth
living for. We had day trips out to places
like flamingo land, bowling, ice-skating
and loads more. Some of the days out
I’ve been on have been the best days of
my life. Days like the beach walk. I’ll
always remember that day! It was just
a little walk on the beach from Saltburn
to Redcar but everyone enjoyed each
other’s company and had fun. It was a
day all my problems just disappeared
and didn’t want it to end.
I still have bad days but The Junction
has always been there to help me
through the horrible times and make
me smile again even when its felt like
my world has ended. There’s not many
places especially for young people like
me to get support and feel comfortable
talking about personal thoughts and
feelings, but the people here just ‘get
you’ and every one of them feel like
friends you can tell everything to. If
I had been sent here before when I
only had social phobia, things would
probably have been different and I
wouldn’t have gotten depression. I’ve
loved every minute here and am glad I
found this place. Words can’t describe
how great full I am for you guys, it’s
been more than I ever expected.
The Junction - A mile in our shoes
12
Can you run for resilience?
W
e are looking for people to sign up and
join our campaign!
We are currently arranging subsidised
entries to local event’s such as the Redcar
half Marathon, Redcar 5K, Redcar 1 mile fun
run, Middlesbrough 10K and Darlington 10K
however, people are free to enter any event
they want to.
We even have a young person bungee jumping
off the transporter bridge!!!
Lawrence, CEO and Jamie, Admin & Finance
Manager at The Junction have both pledged
to run 100 miles each in timed races over the
year. Their first race will be in Marske on Good
Friday and they will even be travelling as far as
the Isle of Tiree, Inner Hebrides for the Tiree
half marathon and to Tywyn in Wales to beat
the train!
If you would like to sign up to our campaign
or find out more, please email info@
thejunctionfoundation.com or telephone us on
01642 756000
To pledge your support please visit our Just
Giving page or TEXT RUNN15 followed by
£1, £2, £5, £10 to 70070 to donate
Please visit and LIKE us at www.facebook.
com/TheJunctionFoundation
We are asking organisations if they would like
to support us through either sponsorship of the
campaign - Logo to be included on publicity
etc, publishing information through available
media, encouraging staff to take part or donating
goodies to be given out to our supporters.
The Junction Foundation
CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLES
CARERS SERVICE
Supporting YOUNG CARERS and YOUNG ADULT CARERS
age 5 – 25 living in Redcar & Cleveland who take on, share or
are impacted on by a caring responsibility for another family
member
We provide Practical, social and emotional support
through...
One to one support
Counselling
Small group activities
Larger social group activities
Family Support
For more information contact
The Junction Foundation
19 Station Road
Redcar
TS10 1AN
T: 01642 756000
E:info@thejunctionfoundation.com
W: www.thejunctionfoundation.com
Registered Charity number: 1125578
Registered Company Number: 6648312
Run For Resilience is a year long campaign to encourage
people to get active by taking part in local events and raising
funds to support local children and young people.
The Junction wants to raise awareness around the issues
that children and young people face by promoting how an
active and healthy life style can have a positive effect on mental
and emotional health & wellbeing. Positive mental health &
wellbeing increases resilience which helps us cope with life’s
ups and downs.
How to refer
Both engage@ thejunction and the Children & Young Peoples Carers
Service are accessed through referral. Anyone can refer, we accept referrals
from organisations, GP’s, schools and we also encourage people to self refer.
To make a referral please contact us on 01642 756000
or email info@thejunctionfoundation.com