‘I kind of had to step up, you know?’ Insights from an ACT-based pilot project on young people and care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Today’s young people are critical stakeholders in the future of care policy and services. As caregivers, care workers and people who will need support in the future, they will inherit the consequences of policy choices made now. However, the experiences and priorities of young people are often overlooked in public debate and deliberations on disability services, aged care, and support for family carers. This report presents the findings of a pilot project involving focus groups with young adults living in the Australian Capital Territory with a variety of lived experiences of providing care and support, as well as those without any direct caring experience. It centres on the voices and perspectives of the young adult participants. The focus groups explored participants’ experiences of caring over the past two years, which included the advent of the COVID-19 virus and associated lockdowns, as well as their views about the formal care and support sector, experiences of disability and carer support services, and hopes for the future. Show more