Welcome to Willow Young Carers' website
This page is intended to be an introduction to Willow. The links on the left hand side will take you to the other pages on our site, which we hope will provide you with useful information about the work we do with young carers.
What is Willow?
Willow is a support service for young carers aged 5-17 years old living in Leeds. We support children and young people who are caring for, or affected by, a family member with a serious physical illness, disability or mental health issue.
What is a young carer?
A young carer is a child or young person who looks after a member of their family. Looking after might mean:
- listening to them and keeping them company
- cooking meals and making drinks
- visiting them in hospital
- looking after brothers and sisters
- cleaning and tidying the house
- providing personal care
- doing shopping
- helping with medication
How do Willow work?
We work alongside young carers to develop their skills and strengths to achieve their own goals. Young carers may be supported by Willow to reach their goals in a variety of ways, including:
- one to one and group support
- speaking to other agencies and professionals to plan support
- obtaining grants and funding for holidays and equipment
- activity days and residential breaks
- support around education, training and employment
For more detailed information on how we work with young carers, please have a look at our Introductory Booklet (PDF), Introductory Booklet in Gujarati (PDF) or Introductory Booklet in Urdu (PDF), which are designed as guides for young people who are new to the service.
How do I make a referral?
It is the family's choice whether they would like to receive support from Willow and we only accept referrals where the young carer has given permission to share information about themselves with us. We also ask for the parent/carer's consent wherever possible.
Families can refer themselves over the phone or by requesting a home visit from a worker to complete the referral form. Professionals can complete the form with the family and post it to us at Willow. You can download the referral form and guidance notes here:
Willow Referral Form (PDF)
Referral Guidance Notes (PDF)
