I work with these ten year old kids (mentioned in the newspaper articles I have pasted into the blog posting....below)....The parents of these kids have mental health and/or drug and alcohol problems......This story draws attention to the plight of all young children who grow up in families with a parent or sibling who has a mental illness.

Mental illness affects 1 in 5 of the population in Australia. This equates to 2.9 million children in this country who are currently affected by their parents' mental health problems.

These children are virtually 'invisible' to the mental health system and do not receive any financial support, help or recognition despite the job they accomplish.

They are the ones who do all the little things (and some big things) for parents and keep the family functioning.  They learn to cook at an early age, they shop, they clean and take out the rubbish. They need a voice.  

Come on you closed minded bureaucrats....why are you afraid to let the little girl have her say?...These kids represent our most 'at risk' group in Australia !!

Old enough to be a carer, too young for carers forum

from The Australian, Wednesday October 8th, 2008, Article by Caroline Overington 

A
GROUP of young people who care for their mentally-ill parents has been
denied permission to attend a Young Carers conference in Canberra after
the organisers told them they were too young.

Jazzi
Pybus, a spirited and internet-savvy 10-year-old, believed she had
plenty to offer the government-sponsored Carers Australia conference.
Her father, Calvin, has a mental illness. Her mother, who prefers not
to be named, was recently hit by a bus and suffered multiple fractures.
Jazzi also has a sibling with Down syndrome.

Much of Jazzi's time is spent caring for her family: putting on the
washing, doing the dishes and taking out the garbage. One of her
friends, Angel, is in a similar situation.

Her mother has a mental illness, so Angel often gets the younger siblings off to school, and puts them to bed at night.

When Jazzi saw an ad for the Young Carers Forum on the Carers
Australia website, she wrote to the organisers, saying: "I am a young
carer of a parent with a mental illness and I would like to attend the
conference.

"I am 10 years old. My dad has post-traumatic stress and I look after him.

"Dad can't work any more. I know a lot of other young people with an
experience like this. Please let me know. I can stay with my aunty
Joanne who lives near the embassy in Canberra."

Four weeks later, a project co-ordinator for Carers Australia, Susan
Yeomans, got back to her, saying: "We have to have a minimum age and of
course, it would be very expensive for you to register.

"Please take care of yourself and I do hope when you are a bit older we will see you at a young carers forum."

Jazzi doesn't give up easily. She wrote back: "Does that mean at 10
I am too young to come? We do care for our parents probably as good as
the nurses and doctors."

In reply, Ms Yeomans said: "In planning the forum, hard decisions
(had to be made) especially about the number and age of the young
carers attending, as we only have a certain amount of money or
funding."

According to the forum's website, the theme of the Young Carer's
forum, "Bring It!" was chosen "to reflect the youth focused, energetic
nature of the forum".

Jazzi, Angel and their friends recently formed a support group for
themselves in Brisbane. They call it Smart Arts and they meet weekly
for art classes, and stay in touch after-hours with instant messaging.
Jazzi wanted to take the paintings by the Smart Arts group to the
conference.

She asked The Australian to promote the Smart Arts show at the Arts
Factory Gallery in Brisbane, saying: "My friends who are also 10 years
old and older, who do stuff like cooking, looking after brothers and
sisters when mum or dad are in treatment (when they have shock
treatment they sleep all the time) shopping, etc, are too young to do
it.

"Since I've been in the group I've got more confidence. We want to
learn how to improve, or meet older people who have good stories that
can keep us going.

"I really wanted to go (to the forum) and had saved up all my
birthday money. I have enough to fly to Canberra as I checked out the
flight prices.

"Maybe if we are famous they will want us?"

Carers Australia was not available for comment yesterday.

They did a follow-up story yesterday ...

Cold Shoulder to Young Carer Jazzi Pybus by Caroline Overington
| October 10, 2008

TEN-YEAR-OLD
carer Jazzi Pybus will not be invited to attend the Young Carers
conference at Parliament House next month, despite being the only child
who volunteered to go.

Carers Australia chief
executive Joan Hughes said yesterday that fully sponsored positions had
been filled and that Jazzi was too young to be of assistance to
policymakers and academics who will attend the conference.

The Australian this week reported that Carers Australia, which
received $280,000 in federal funding to host a Young Carers conference,
had knocked back an approach by Jazzi to attend with her friends, aged
10 to 12, who care for parents who have schizophrenia or suffer from
drug abuse.

Jazzi's father, Calvin Pybus, has post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Her mother was recently hit by a bus and left with multiple fractures.
She has a baby brother with Down syndrome. Her friend, Angel, cares for
a mum with bipolar disorder.

The girls wanted to attend the conference because they were
themselves young carers: they do the washing, help young siblings get
ready for bed, and manage the household. They formed a support group
for young carers in their neighbourhood, outside Brisbane. They connect
online, and have painted a series of artworks about their lives. The
girls hoped to learn from others at the conference, too.

Ms Hughes said yesterday: "What you really need to understand is that the young people who will attend have been recruited."

The Australian understands that Jazzi is the only young person to
get in touch with Carers Australia and ask to attend the talkfest.

Ms Hughes said the aim was to bring together academics, members of
parliament, service providers and young carers. Asked if Jazzi could be
in the audience, she said: "It's hard to say. It's a duty-of-care
issue."

Carers Australia spokesman Anthony Watkins said the problem was a shortage of seats.

"We arranged for 32 young carers from across Australia to come," Mr
Watkins said. "We had limited funds and we had to make the most of
opportunities."

Opposition disabilities, carers and voluntary sector spokesman Cory
Bernardi said: "We should be supporting our very young carers. It
concerns me that they are not receiving financial support. It's
alarming. They are a hidden group. To hear that children are banding
together for support as there are no services suitable to their needs
is disturbing."

 Discussion through postings is most welcome!!!