Sea Cadets is holding a Twitter takeover today (Thursday 25 January) to mark Young Carers Awareness Day.
Able Cadet Kate, 16, will be tweeting throughout the day on the @SeaCadetsUK account. Kate, who attends Salford Sea Cadets, is a young carer for her dad, who had a stroke about four years ago.
Kate says: "My dad really supported me when I joined Sea Cadets, and he was in the process of joining as a volunteer when he had a massive stroke. He lost his speech, and some of his mobility. Since then, Sea Cadets has helped me with being a place where I can get away from looking after my dad and being at school, because that’s hard now my dad’s ill. It also helps as I have my first aid qualifications for caring for my dad at home.
“My brother and I help by speaking on my dad’s behalf at appointments at hospital, or we will go round to help him with his work. He does everything himself, but for the things he can’t do, he relies on me and my brother. He can’t walk the dog, so we do that, or we may do the cleaning or cooking sometimes. He is in a lot of pain, so we look after that.
“It is hard, but you make time for things. I’m not at my dad’s every single day, but I make sure I’m there if he needs me. He understands if I’m not there all the time. Sea Cadets has also been understanding.
“One of the things I enjoy doing is engineering. My dad is in engineering, and I’ve grown up learning about it and going into his work. For that reason, Sea Cadets is a bit of a dad figure to me, because what my dad gave me before he became ill, Sea Cadets now gives me. Going on adventures or learning about engineering are opportunities my dad would have given me, and Sea Cadets now does that. I would like to be a Weapon Engineer Officer in the Royal Navy when I am older.
“The volunteers at my unit have been extremely supportive. They are like my second family. They help get you to where you want to be in the right way and the most effective way. Whenever I have been upset about my dad, or worried about something, they have always been there.
“Some of my best friends are cadets. One of my best friends in the whole world is someone I know through Sea Cadets. You meet people all the time – new people and people you have met before – and you become friends. They really support you – it’s almost like they are your siblings. Everyone shows respect for each other and pushes each other to do their best.”
The aim of Young Carers Awareness Day is to identify and raise awareness of the 700,000 young carers across the UK. To find out more, visit: https://carers.org/young-carers-awareness-day-2018
