A University of Sunderland student is launching her ‘Carers at University Project’ at the University of Sunderland tomorrow.
21-year-old journalism student Sophie Dishman, who has been a young carer since the age of 11, is launching her Fixers UK project – Carers at University.
Sophie will be launching her project tomorrow at the University of Sunderland after today’s Young Carers Awareness Day.
She is campaigning to raise awareness of the pressures faced by young carers at university and wants to make students and universities across the country aware of how university can impact a carer.
She said: “Being a young carer can impact your university studies dramatically.
“Luckily for me, I don’t like my caring responsibilities get too much in the way of my studies. But for some young carers at university, their studies may be last on the list because of their caring role.
“That is why I want to tell people about it, so that peers and universities can support young carers in their transition to university once they reach this important milestone in their life.”
The 21-year-old student has produced a bag and a leaflet to raise awareness of the issue.
The bag has printed checklist on it, of responsibilities a young carer might have, sporting the slogan ‘Being a carer at uni can be a lot to carry around.’
You can follow the hashtag for the launch – #CarerLife on Twitter.