MP joins Young Carers for premiere

Young carers in York will celebrate Young Carers Awareness Day on Friday with the launch of a new play inspired by their stories.

Hugh Bayley MP will join young carers and young adult carers at the premiere of ‘Tiny Treasures’, hosted by York St John University, to listen to their views and take part in a question-and-answer session. 

Tiny Treasures, a play for 9 – 13 year olds, will tour schools across the north of the UK throughout June to raise awareness of issues facing young carers. The play has been produced by professional children’s theatre company Theatre Hullabaloo and is the latest part of Young Carers Revolution’s work to raise the profile of young carers and provide support for them. The project is led by multi-award winning social enterprise, Inspired Youth, who are based at York St John University.

The play will be performed earlier in the day for pupils from Lord Deramore’s Primary School.

Hayley Robson, Young Adult Carer Worker at York Carers Centre said: “This is a great chance for our young carers and young adult carers to let those in power know what needs to be changed in order to make a real difference to them.  By talking directly to Hugh they will be able to learn more about the Parliamentary process and how decisions are made.”

The discussion session starts at 5.00pm and the play will follow at 7.00pm. Tickets for the event are available online here. 

Sami Richardson, Tiny Treasures Project Manager at Inspired Youth said: “I hope that the play encourages more young people to step forward and identify that they are a young carer, I also want more teachers to be aware of the existence of young carers within their schools and classes. By educating them it means that they are better able to help support hidden young carers.”

• York Carers Centre provides activities and support for unpaid carers of all ages who live, or care for someone who lives, in York. 
• Young Carers Revolution (YCR) was established in 2009 and provides empowerment and influence to young carers and young adult carers (eight to 25 years) in York. Its purpose is to proactively influence services provided for them by statutory and third sector organisations.
• Inspired Youth are an award-winning not-for-profit Social Enterprise embracing the creativity and vibrancy of digital media production, arts and participative inclusion techniques to inform, challenge, educate and inspire.