During the summer holidays 38 young carers living in a family impacted by Huntington’s disease took a break from their caring responsibilities by attending an activity day. Young carers took part in a programme of activities including archery, kayaking, paddle boarding and bowling.
Activ8 is a weekly multi-sport session for children and young people aged 7-17 with physical and learning disabilities. The sessions, which run on Saturday mornings at Gracemount Leisure Centre in Edinburgh, give participants the chance to have fun getting active and give carers some respite.
Team United provided sports summer camps for children and young people with disabilities in 3 locations during the school holidays in Spring 2020 and Summer 2020.
The activities ran in partnership with local community clubs and offered the same opportunities to all.
We delivered three youth clubs for disabled teenagers between 14-18yrs. The clubs meet on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings in person or online and work with a maximum of 16 teens to help friendships form, enable positive wellbeing and give the opportunity of independence.
We delivered a day-long online Camp in the Cloud family camp on Saturday 30th August which served 11 children living with serious illness, and 27 of their family members from Scotland. We brought fun, respite and connection to families at a time of crisis.
We delivered flexible respite at a time which enabled all family members to enjoy their break, we spent 3-4 hours with the child/ren with disabilities (weekly) both in the family home and local community – encouraging them to access and participate in fun activities, try new things, visit new places of interest.
We ran a monthly social event, each with a different themed activity. This was open to the carers and families of our TEENS+ students, as well as the students themselves. We offered flexible options for attendance/participation.
We ran our Nurture Group which is for young adults with mild disabilities and experiences of ACEs takes place one a month where group members participate in activities aimed at preventative emotional health and wellbeing, in a safe and secure environment that allows them to be their selves.
We provided 3 ‘Health and Well-being’ residentials for young carers ( 9-14 years) – “It’s okay to not be okay”. Delivering specialist support to help young carers learn positive and healthy coping strategies to cope with their difficult feelings and make the changes that are right for them.
Creative Companions provided short breaks opportunities to Gypsy/Traveller carers in Edinburgh/Lothians, Perth & Kinross and Argyll. Plans for family days & residentials were severely impacted by COVID-19 & replaced by online activities, afternoon teas, guided pamper sessions and Festive packs.