Interview③ (Young Carers Association)

The Young Carers Association is an organization that supports young carers and youth carers. We interviewed a person in charge of the association via web meeting. We would like to thank the Association of Young Carers and the person in charge for their correspondence.

About Young Carers Association

The predecessor of the Young Carers Association was Yankuru Inc, which was founded by Mr. Miyazaki, who currently serves as the association's representative. Mr. Miyazaki, who had been a young carer himself, established the company in order to provide assistance in finding employment, which is often a problem for carers who often have difficulty attending school. In the course of its activities, the company decided that it would be better for the corporation to be a general incorporated association, and the current Association of Young Carers was established. The general incorporated association made it easier to gather people, and because there are many things that can be done as an organization or group rather than on an individual basis in providing support, it became a general incorporated association. The Association is made up of former and current young carers.

Nowadays, the Young Carers Association is engaged in a wide variety of activities, including the Yancle Community, which builds a community of carers, training and lectures, and awareness-raising activities, in addition to the employment support that was provided by Yancle Inc. The challenges that each distressed young carer has are unique, and a diversity of support has been created to meet each individual challenge. Young Carers Association does not deny caregiving per se, and believes that if one is willing to be a carer, there is nothing wrong with doing so. Our long-term goal is to prevent people from giving up learning, working, and living their own lives just because they are young carers.

Yancle Community

The Yancle Community is an online community for young carers and youth carers, started with the idea of creating a place where carers who tend to be alone can vent their worries. The person in charge of the interview said, “carers are really stressed out. Sometimes they just want to talk about their problems.” Although this activity does not lead to a fundamental solution to the issues that carers are facing, the purpose of this activity is to verbalize the issues that they are facing and to create an opportunity to solve them or move on. Verbalizing the challenges is also important for when the caregiving period is over, when they can output their life so far and share it with someone else.

Employment Support

As mentioned earlier, the association's predecessor, Yankuru Inc, also provided employment support, and the association has taken over the business. There are many problems that young carers face in finding employment, such as having to balance work and caregiving, or having a blank in their jobs even though they have completed their caregiving period. The Association of Young Carers provides counseling and support for these people in their job search, such as helping them to find a company to work for.

However, the interviewer says that the current situation is tough. While some people are hired by companies that are popular for employment that seem to have a system in place that allows them to work while caring for a relative, the interviewer's impression is that about 80% of those consulted have not been able to successfully find employment. Among these people, many are unable to find employment due to a lack of understanding of carers by companies. In this context, the association is supporting carer skill development and working to improve companies' awareness of carers. The person in charge of the interview said, “We need a change in social awareness, so that companies that do not pay attention to carers will lose their social reputation.” The association is working to improve the awareness of carers. The association aims to create an environment where carers can find jobs and work in the same field as non-carers.

Training, Lectures, and Educational Activities

The association gives lectures as a concerned and support group for young carers at seminars hosted by municipalities and large companies, and also makes appearances in the media. The person in charge of the interview said, “It is not enough that only a part of society knows about the issue of young carers. We need to raise the awareness of society as a whole..” The issue of young caregivers has recently been discussed. Although awareness of the issue of young carers has been increasing in recent years, it is only those who are interested in the issue who attend lectures and other events, and those who are not interested in the issue are unlikely to become aware of it even if we conduct educational activities. The association believes that it is necessary to raise awareness of the issue widely in schools. and other places.

Inquiry counter

Currently, inquiries for children in general and young carers in particular are being developed by the government and municipalities. However, the interviewer said, “From a young carer's point of view, it is a hurdle to talk to a stranger.” The association has established a consultation service for young carers. At the association, the person in charge of the contact desk gives his/her face and name., and is open about his/her own experiences as a carer., so that carers can consult with him or her without anxiety.. As for the format of the consultation, we try to increase the amount of actual talking as much as possible. We also provide a place where they can “have fun”. by not only discussing their problems but also making small talk. The association is also responsible for the operation of the Saitama Prefecture Young Carer Consultation Desk.

We also offer a “personal history production” business, although we are not accepting new applications at this time. Young carers often find it difficult to take a long-term view of their lives and think deeply about their own lives in the midst of their daily caregiving duties. As a result, when the caregiving period is over, they may not know what they want to do, or they may lose sight of what they have done outside of caregiving. This program helps these young carers to look back on their life path, including not only the difficult and painful parts, but also the happy and positive events, and to face their own lives.

Changes in recent years

In recent years, public awareness of the issue of young carers has increased. The interviewer said, “When there is a sensational case, it is easy to attract public attention. The case of a young carer murdering his/her caregiver was a key factor in the recent increase in public awareness of the issue.” He added, “The case of a young carer killing a caregiver has been a key point in raising public awareness. The media coverage of young carers and support groups has also increased due to the awareness-raising activities of support groups such as the Young Carers Association, and the fact that the reality of the situation of young carers has been brought to the public's attention.” The interviewer said, “Now that there is so much attention, it's like a kind of boom, and we feel the need to take action while there is still public interest.”

The interviewer also pointed out that the increase in the number of young carers in recent years may be due to the fact that, with the naming of conditions such as “dementia” as a disease, even previously neglected conditions have become eligible for care, and that, with the weakening of ties in the community, there is less mutual help and more caregiving within the family. The report also points out that the increase in caregiving within the family may be a factor. The report also suggests that the increase in the number of young carers may also be due to the increase in the number of people being cared for due to the aging of the population and the increase in the number of patients with sexual diseases, as well as the increase in the number of cases where children have to be cared for by their parents due to the shift to nuclear families.

As mentioned above, public awareness of young carers is increasing, and with it the funds that can be secured to support them. In recent years, in addition to private support, the government. has begun to develop policies to support young carers. The government is encouraging municipalities to implement projects to support young carers, and there are some programs in which the government pays part or all of the costs of the services. Municipalities have also been outsourcing the actual implementation of projects to support groups such as Young Carers Associations, thereby increasing the amount of funding that Young Carers Associations are able to secure. They have also seen an increase in donations due to the growing attention to the issue. The person in charge of the interview said, “We have more funds that we can raise, which has broadened the range of activities that we can do.”

Supported by carer parties

Current and former carers are involved in support activities at the association. Our interviewer is no exception. When he was 14 years old, his parents divorced and his younger brother was very young, so he worked part-time to support the family. At the time, he perceived it as “an extension of helping out.,” and although he understands that this now applies when defining "young carer," his perception at the time has not changed much. Since he was not able to attend high school very much, he became a freelancer for two years after graduation, and then went to college. During his first year of college, his grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and for the next 10 years, he was involved in her care while working for the university and company. For these 10 years, he identifies himself as a “young carer.” The interviewer commented on this caregiving experience, “The problems I had did not disappear. I could not receive understanding from those around me, and the issues and problems that arose were often solved by myself or by time or luck. If circumstances had been different, I might have died or killed my grandmother.” He narrates. Based on this experience, he started his own activities to support young carers in 2020, and later became involved in the association's activities, in order to provide support to young carers who are currently suffering, which he was not able to receive at that time.

Finally, we asked for a message for middle and high school students. The interviewer said, “Middle and high school students have young carers nearby, such as their classmates, so they can be aware of the problems that carers are facing. Young carers themselves are often unaware of their own problems and issues. When they feel something is not right, it is important to talk to them, listen to them, and do what you can to connect them to an adult. For some young carers, it can be difficult to talk to a contact person, for example, so you can talk to them instead.”