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Written by Lux and Rebekah.
"Young carers should be invited to help shape the way supports are designed and the priorities of what supports we even need in the first place" - Council Member
Across Canada, young people are supporting family members and/or friends every day while balancing school, work, and their own personal lives. These responsibilities shape everyday life, relationships, and future plans in ways that may not always be visible to others. The Young Caregiver Council of Canada (YCCC) creates space for our experiences to be recognized and valued by connecting young carers with diverse identities and stories across Canada. As a national group of young carers we use our collective wisdom to advocate for change.
Who are young carers?
Young carers are young people who support someone living with chronic illness, mental health concerns, disability, substance misuse, parental absence, aging needs, and/or other social and/or cultural factors (e.g., language). We are students, friends, co-workers, and family members who take up complex responsibilities, often without recognition or support. While balancing school, work, and social lives, we assist with everyday routines and challenges, coordinate care across medical and social systems, provide different types of support, and advocate for our families in systems not designed with caregiving young people in mind.
Our Beginnings
The Young Caregivers Association® (YCA) envisioned a national advisory of young caregivers that would inform programs and services for young caregivers across Canada. Through the Petro-Canada CareMakers Foundation National Grant, the YCA connected with Co-founder and National Council Lead, Rebekah Gold, to help make this vision come to life. Over the last three years, Rebekah has worked alongside brilliant young carers to build the YCCC from the ground up. Drawing on her experiences as a young carer and critical participatory researcher, Rebekah worked to ensure the YCCC was created by young carers for young carers, prioritizing community, mentorship, shared decision-making, and meaningful partnerships and advocacy work. Naturally, the YCCC became a powerful space for advocacy and community among young carers.
Fast forward to 2025, the YCCC has grown to become their own entity, while maintaining a strong partnership with the YCA. The YCCC is a collective of young carers from across Canada who believe that our stories and experiences should guide conversations and decisions about us. We believe in celebrating difference and that every young carers' story is unique. We come together not only to share stories but to drive change that is grounded in care, community, and connection. Too often, decisions about young carers are made without including those of us who take up care work every day.
Our goal is simple:
We want young carers to be recognized, supported, and valued.
We want to create a space grounded in connection and co-creation, where we design our own projects, share our lived wisdom and work alongside professionals and policymakers to transform the systems that shape our lives.
Why Awareness Matters
Presently, young carers are still largely unsupported and unrecognized in Canada. A teacher may not understand why a student is late or tired in class. An employer may not see why a young worker needs flexibility. Emergency services may not see or hear the many young people that are navigating crises and call responders for help. Health and social services may miss opportunities to identify, understand, and provide resources to young carers.
Awareness matters because it is the first step toward change.
When people know we exist, they can begin to create policies, programs, and practices that support us.
Image Description: A group of young people advocating alongside each other in grayscale. A white woman with dark hair and a jean jacket holds a megaphone with her first up in the air. To the left, a black woman with shoulder length dark hair and a long black coat has her first in the air. More young people are located in the backdrop with their fists in the air.
Our Call to Action
We are calling for recognition, respect, and resources that reflect the realities of young carers.
Together, we can:
• Recognize young carers as a distinct group in policies, classrooms, workplaces, and across systems.
• Build resources with and for young carers.
• Equip professionals (e.g., educators, employers, healthcare providers, crisis and emergency responders, etc.) with training to recognize and support young carers.
• Create safe(r) spaces where young carers can share their experiences without stigma and fear of intervention or misunderstanding.
Awareness is just the beginning.
We invite educators, healthcare providers, emergency and crisis responders, child and youth professionals, researchers, policymakers, and community members to connect with us, share our message, and take action in your own communities. Explore our website to learn more about what we do, listen to young carers’ stories, and join this growing movement to build a Canada where young carers feel safe, respected, informed, involved, and supported.
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