Right now, there are 800,000 children in the UK help care for parents or siblings who are seriously ill or disabled - that's around every 1 in 16 children. 

Many are still in primary school. Most never get a real break, to have fun and remember what it’s like to be a child.

Young carers make up a large proportion of the families we support. These children and teenagers often care for family members with physical and/or mental health conditions, or those with disabilities. Young carers often experience can high levels of anxiety and isolation, and often miss out on childhood experiences that their peers take for granted everyday. Time away, even for a few days, can make a vital difference.

Time away offers young carers a chance to escape from day-to-day pressures and reconnect with their family. 

Every break is designed to release pressure, be accessible and supportive - offering time to reconnect and breathe before things fall apart, for families like Erin and Mandy's:

Erin is still at school and is a registered carer for her mum and brother, while trying to cope with her own grief of losing her dad unexpectedly. 

Her brother Logan is autistic and has a prosthetic leg. Mum, Mandy, lives with chronic pain and a neurological condition triggered by stress. 

At home, everyone retreated into separate rooms. Mandy said, “we’ve all been feeling a bit lost.” 

A break in Torquay was just what was needed to help mend the rifts between them and some of the pain of their grieving.