AMI-Quebec’s Young Carers Initiative
How many young carers are there in Canada?
According to the 2018 General Social Survey on Caregiving and Care Receiving, about 1.25 million young people aged 15 to 25 (roughly 19% of that age group) provided care or help to family members or friends with a long-term condition, a physical or mental disability, or problems related to aging (Statistics Canada, 2022). Globally several studies have found that caregiving starts as young as 6, and that on average, 10% of all youth are caregivers in need of our help.
What is AMI doing to help young carers?
We offer individual support, group workshops, and recreation activities for young carers aged 5 to 25! Explore our services here.
Beyond services for youth, we have also taken a role in promoting the cause of young carers, building capacity in health, education and community organizations, and advocating for policies to support them at all levels of government. We do this through:
- Our Young Carers Working Group
- Our Young Carers Advisory Council
- The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence’s Young Carers Roundtable
- Consulting on Young Carers Developments
Our initiative addresses young carers irrespective of why they provide care, be it related to their loved one’s mental health, disability, age, or other health concern. This is an intersectional approach that respects that “care” is defined differently by people of different backgrounds, cultures, and circumstances. Taking care of a loved one presents a lot of challenges for your own mental health, so we recognize caregiving as a risk factor in youth mental health.
Working Group
Established in 2018, our Working Group includes young carers, professionals from a variety of sectors, and researchers from across Quebec and beyond. Together, the Working Group coordinates resources and mobilizes knowledge from their areas of expertise. Involvement in the Working Group is flexible – reach out to youngcarers@amiquebec.org to find out more.
VISION STATEMENT
We envision a society that:
- Recognizes and values the important contributions young carers make in providing care and support to family and loved ones.
- Provides a variety of supports and resources to young carers to assist them in maintaining their caregiving role, and to ensure their healthy physical, emotional, and social development.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Young Carers Working Group is committed to promote protective factors and minimize risk factors that might be related to providing care to family and loved ones at a young age.
The Working Group will:
- raise awareness of the role young carers play
- explore the range of their needs
- encourage the provision of information and supports
- influence policies and services aimed at supporting young carers in their role
Young Carers Advisory Council
AMI-Quebec believes that young carers have incredible leadership potential, and deserve mentorship. Our Young Carers Advisory Council is a group of carers aged 14-30. The purpose of this council is to empower young carers themselves to lead our initiatives. We work together to design AMI’s service offering, and raise awareness of young caregivers. Reach out to learn more: youngcarers@amiquebec.org!
Young Carers Roundtable
The Young Carers Roundtable is made up of individuals and organizations from across Canada. We meet quarterly to share best practices and resources as well as foster peer networks and partnerships to support children, youth and young adults who give care. Write to info@canadiancaregiving.org to join!
Led by the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, in partnership with the Young Caregivers Association and AMI-Quebec
Consulting on Young Carers Developments
Young carers do not receive the attention and recognition they require and deserve. AMI-Quebec is a leader in the young carers movement! In a few short years, we’ve established services for ages 5 to 30, presented at the International Young Carers Conference, set up continuing collaborations with schools, universities, and cegeps. Through our advocacy, we’ve given young carers a voice in Quebec’s caregiving action plan and Canada’s National Caregiving Strategy, and normalized including them in health perspectives. We continue to consult on strategic developments in caregiving, youth, and mental health to ensure young carers are acknowledged and considered. Get in touch if you want to include a young carers’ perspective in your project: youngcarers@amiquebec.org.
Milestones
2018
AMI-Quebec creates a working group to explore young carers as an underserved population.
2019
AMI-Quebec and Proche Aidance Quebec host the first-ever Quebec-based symposium on young carers (watch a summary!)
2021
AMI-Quebec hires its first Young Carers Coordinator, launches a support group for young adult carers of people with a mental illness, and begins piloting services.
2022
The Edith and John Hans Low-Beer Memorial Lecture features Dr. Saul Becker, a world-leader in young carers research from the UK. See what he had to say here.
2023
AMI-Quebec hosts the 2nd Quebec Symposium on Young Carers. The aim is to Chart a Collective Course toward a no wrong door system of support for young carers. The event was bilingual and hybrid, attracting international attention and featuring Dr. Saul Becker as keynote speaker. Watch the recordings here: in English or in French.
Oliver, our Young Carers Coordinator, receives the Young Caregivers Advocate award from the Centre for Caregiving Excellence at the first National Caregiving Summit.
2024
At the International Young Carers Conference in Manchester, England, AMI-Quebec presents its model for engaging stakeholders from government, health, education and community sectors.
AMI-Quebec launches individual support for teen young carers, and workshops for young carers aged 5 to 30.
Oliver represents AMI-Quebec on the National Caregiving Champions Table, to draft the National Caregiving Strategy with the CCCE, and participates in a roundtable with the Minister for Seniors and Employment Social Development Canada
2025
AMI-Quebec launches its Young Carers Advisory Council and begins organizing respite activities.
AMI-Quebec, Proche Aidance Quebec and the Regroupement des aidantes et aidants de Montreal form a committee to collaborate with the MSSS, MEQ, and MES to include young carers in Quebec’s Caregiving Action Plan for 2026-2031.
Are you looking for services for a young carer?
Are you looking for guides and toolkits?
Get in Touch
Reach out to Oliver at youngcarers@amiquebec.org to:
- Organize an information or training session for your staff or clients
- Organize an event for young carers you work with
- Order Kare Magazine posters or print copies
- Join our Working Group
- Ask any questions you have about young carers
Click here to sign up for email updates about our young carer initiatives
This program was made possible by the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, a program of the Azrieli Foundation, and is supported by the CAP Santé Mentale’s Aider Sans Filtre Project and CHSSN.
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