CARERS
Up to 250,000 ‘forgotten’ unpaid young adult carers facing homelessness
Up to 250,000 unpaid young adult carers could face homelessness according to a new warning from experts.
The 2021 Census showed five million people provide unpaid care across England and Wales, with more than 272,000 carers aged between 16-24 years of age providing an estimated £3.5 billion of unpaid care per year.
Young adult carers are an often-overlooked group at risk of homelessness, with the strain of caring for family leading to mental and physical exhaustion and restricting access to education and employment opportunities.
This is why charities Quaker Social Action and Commonweal Housing set up a housing project called Move on Up, which has supported 32 young adult carers living in four homes in London over the last six years.
Dylan was 15 when he started caring for his younger sister and his mother. He had to manage caring responsibilities alongside schoolwork which left him “waking up feeling shattered”. He took on an apprenticeship as a theatre technician to contribute financially.
“I was educated enough to buckle down after hours to catch up on any work I had to do, and I left school with nine GCSEs,” said Dylan.
Dylan, now 25, spent five years in Move on Up and has secured a job as the senior technical manager at the same theatre where he was an apprentice.
Judith Moran, director at Quaker Social Action, said the project highlighted the issues young adult carers face. “When we started researching the needs of young adult carers, especially around housing, nearly
