'Christmas is not a day off for family carers'

A woman who cares for two family members has said "Christmas is not a day off" for people in her position.

Jordan Till, 27, from Cambridgeshire, has been the sole carer of her mother since she was about four years old and has recently started caring for her aunt.

She said she did all she could to help make their lives as easy as possible, but Christmas can be tough, both emotionally and financially.

Zoe Bunter, from Caring Together in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, said asking carers the "very simple question" of "how are you" or "can I help", could make a huge difference.

Ms Till won a BBC Make a Difference award in September and was nominated by her mum and aunt who said they did not know where they would be without her.

Although Ms Till said she "wouldn't have it any other way", as a young carer it can be "isolating" when children her age did not know or understand what she did.

"When I was younger I was a little bit worried about sharing what I was going through," she said.

"I'm sure there were others going through the same thing, but it's sometimes hard to talk about.

"As I've got older, I've realised there's no need for that... not everything looks like a typical person's success."

The family spends Christmas together, often tucked up in the living room, but the holiday does not mean a break from caring.

"We try and concentrate on making it a happy time and keeping everyone's spirits up.

"I wasn't getting paid [for caring] until very recently.

"Obviously I want to provide the best, give them loads of presents, make sure we have a nice meal... it's more money when you're already kind of living so close to the breadline."

Ms Bunter, the head of fundraising and communications at Caring Together, said the youngest carer they supported was four years old and the oldest was more than 100.

"Nobody plans to become a carer, it's something that happens to you," she said.

"One of the things that really hit me was you sort of lose your identity... you almost get a little bit forgotten."

The charity aims to help prevent carers from feeling in crisis or isolated and Christmas can be a challenging.

A change in routine, different noises or decorations around a house can become disorientating and make life "that much more challenging".

Other difficulties included pharmacies and other support services being closed, increased electricity costs and pressure to buy gifts.

"For young carers Christmas can also be a time where they perhaps feel they're missing out more than usual and feel their life is quite different from their friends," said Ms Bunter.

"When they're out of school and at home and with family for longer periods of time, they can feel that difference a lot more so it can be quite a hard time."

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