Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

An estimated 1.25 million young Canadians currently provide care to their loved one(s) living with a physical/mental health condition, disorder, disability, or injury. Young caregivers, those under the age of 25 who provide care to a family member/friend, must go to school, extracurriculars, and/or jobs on top of attending to their caregiving obligations. They are a very unique demographic in Canada who are invisible to most organizations and non-existent within policies/legislation. Accordingly, almost no direct services and/or agency assistance exists within Canada to support this population. Compared to other countries, such as the UK or Australia, Canada is behind in its research and support for younger caregivers. To advocate for Canadian young caregivers, we will organize a special, one-time, Canadian Young Caregiver Conference (CYCC) and create a YouTube video series on young caregivers based on the conference presentations and activities. The CYCC will take place in May 2024 during Canada's National Caregivers Month. The conference will bring together over 100 researchers, policymakers, healthcare professionals, young caregivers, community representatives, students, and the public to engage in critical dialogue about young caregivers. We will also invite young caregivers and community representatives to share their experiences living and working in different Canadian provinces. Following the conference, we will create a YouTube series to disseminate useful information to different internal and external interested parties using recordings from the conference. Furthermore, we will work towards the development of a formal national network that supports young caregivers by connecting researchers, community agencies, healthcare professionals, students, and young caregivers across Canada.