group photo of young adult carers taking on the gauntelt challenge

Young Adult Carers take on The Gauntlet challenge

by Cally Emmerson | Jul 11, 2018 | Carer News

The Young Adult Carers (YACs) group of unpaid carers aged between 16 and 25 in East Sussex, are in training to tackle The Gauntlet Games in Brighton on 14th July 2018.

The 5k race includes plenty of obstacles, a challenge the YACs are taking on to raise funds for Care for the Carers, which runs its group.

“I’m doing The Gauntlet to help the next generation of Young Adult Carers – so they get the support they need,” says Jordan Fuller, pictured here with other members of the group taking on the challenge. In light of recent announcements of heavy council cuts to carers’ funding across the county, fundraising like this is vital.

“This group is so important to me, I know it costs money to run, I want to raise what I can to help,” continues Jordan.

About Young Adult Carers

YAC It’s estimated there are 375,000 YACs in the UK, with approximately 3,000 across East Sussex.* Approximate figures are 686 young carers in Eastbourne, 733 in Hastings, 652 in Lewes, 788 across Wealden, and 566 in Rother. ** On average YACs save the UK economy £5.5 billion per year.***

YACs know how it feels to be responsible for somebody else’s care. They know how exhausting it can be, how much it can impact on other areas of life and how sometimes people don’t understand their situation. The YAC group provides a valuable chance for the youths to spend time together, hang out and have fun, relax and be supported in their caring roles.

“Providing these Young Adult Carers with the opportunity to have a break from the insurmountable responsibilities they face on a daily basis, is priceless to them, but comes at a cost. They want to be able to do something that helps contribute to that cost and this way we get to do it while having fun,” says Rachel Hesterbanks, Young Adult Carers Project Lead at Care for the Carers.

“It also provides the YACs with the opportunity to rib me for wearing lycra and a rainbow tutu!” she jokes.

Rachel can be seen here modelling one of the team t-shirts, kindly provided free of charge by local Eastbourne printing company Ashprint.

If you’d like to help the YACs reach their fundraising goal to help other unpaid carers like themselves in East Sussex, please sponsor the group via the button below:

Brighten up a Young Adult Carer’s day!