Swing the Vote

Will you be voting in the election this year? For many of us (3.3 million young people, to be precise), 7th May 2015 will mark our first opportunity to vote in a General Election, with it being five years since the last one. This is our chance to have a real say in how the country will be run. Who will be moving into 10 Downing Street in less than a month’s time? Will it be the leader of the Labour Party? UKIP? Green? The Liberal Democrats? Or will David Cameron stay put? The decision is yours.

However, the amount of people taking this opportunity is minimal – in the 2010 election, only 44% of all 18–24 year olds voted, compared with 68% of over 65s, and young British people are some of the least likely to vote in Europe. Young people are also some of the most keen to make a difference to their society, remaining part of social change through activism, campaigns, volunteering and social media movements. We are clearly a politically-minded, active bunch. So why aren’t we all taking the opportunity to vote?

Team v’s latest campaign, ‘Swing the Vote’, is aiming to get more 18–25s into the polling booth to cast their vote in order to ensure that politicians take notice about the issues that matter to young people, like education (I’m sure we all remember the tuition fees scandal that still haunts our nightmares – not to mention our future bank balances), jobs and affordable housing. We all have the chance to influence decision makers and play a part in democracy, and Team v wants us all to understand the importance of using our political voice, by voting. People fought hard to win our country democracy, and for women, win us the vote – surely it would be wasteful if we ignored this call? There are 6.8 million young people eligible to vote in this election – enough to decide the all-important election result. If we sit back and do nothing, we’re relinquishing our chance to have a say. As Maisie Williams, the star of Game of Thrones, says: ‘They think you’re a self-obsessed, selfie stick-waving generation… they’ve kicked your future in the teeth and hoped you wouldn’t notice.’ But you have noticed, and now it’s time to do something about it.

It’s incredibly important to engage with politics and with your local MP. It is understandable that so many young people are disengaged with politics, but I think it’s true that you shouldn’t complain about politics if you’ve not at least made an effort to change it, if you have the chance – once you’ve voted you can complain all you want (because who doesn’t love a bit of jeering at the TV every now and again)!

The top issues voted by young people in a vInspired poll were: the NHS, inequality, tuition fees, the cost of living, unemployment, care for the elderly, crime, affordable housing, online privacy and public finances. All of these issues are in the hands of the government we vote in. If you have opinions on any of these issues, and many more, there is no reason not to vote. If you’re still uncertain as to who to vote for, the Swing the Vote campaign and Do Something have teamed up with ten YouTubers to bring you the lowdown on these issues, explaining how they affect you and what the policies of each party are regarding them. You can find these videos on the Swing the Vote Tumblr: http://swingthevote.vinspired.com/#/filter-all/page-1.

However, Team v isn’t just focusing on getting young people to vote. It also aims to get people to think about how politics is a 24/7 aspect of our lives, whether we like it or not. It affects us in our everyday life, and there are many ways of getting involved in the decision-making which goes into politics, such as through online petitions, youth councils and volunteering for a political party.

We’ve watched the debates, we’ve seen the manifestos, and we’ve heard every plea under the sun to vote a certain way – but ultimately, the decision is down to you. What are you waiting for? Come May 7th, go and vote!

To get more involved in Team v’s ‘Swing the Vote’ campaign, join the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/794181834000200/.

Original article: The Bubble

Do You Care?: The Struggle of Young Carers

The average age of a young carer is 12. What kind of life were you living when you were 12? Most people, when they think back to their childhood and adolescence, think of carefree, happy times, where they had a chance to begin to discover what the world has to offer. However, life for young carers across the country is often vastly different, and much harder. A young carer is a child or young person up to the age of 18 who cares for a family member. The care needed ranges for those with a family member who has a physical disability, mental health illness, substance addictions, and terminal, life limiting or life threatening illnesses. They often offer both practical and emotional care. This means that young carers frequently have to grow up much more quickly than others their age, as they have to administer the care ordinarily provided by an adult. As a result they miss out on much of the fun of childhood. Having to look after a family member is an incredibly time-consuming and challenging job in itself, especially when you’re juggling homework, extracurricular activities, friendships and the personal development important for young people to have. Durham Team v are running a campaign entitled ‘Do You Care?’ to raise awareness of the issues faced by young carers, as this is a widespread problem throughout the country. Latest census figures suggest that there are currently 166,363 young carers in England, but there are likely to be many more who have fallen under the official radar.

Young carers can experience both physical and emotional problems due to the care they provide, and also may struggle with keeping up with schoolwork. They often don’t think about the prospect of their own futures, as their time, energy and thoughts are focused on their caring role. Around one in twenty young carers miss school because of their responsibilities, and they have significantly lower attainment at GCSE level than those who do not have a caring role. They are also more likely than the national average not to be in education, employment or training between the ages of 16 and 19.

However, help is at hand. Family Action, England’s leading family charity, is helping to work with young carers. It supports over 45,000 families every year, and one of the services it offers in the County Durham community is The Bridge Young Carers Service, dedicated to assisting young carers. Helen Dent, the Family Action Chief Executive, highlights the problems young carers may face: “Some children and young people are carrying the world on their shoulders for their families without this ever being recognised.” She sees that “they have the same right as others to try to fulfil their potential” and this is the aim of the project itself. The support offered within this project includes advocacy, support for any educational problems the young carers may have, and simply being there for them, providing them with information on aspects such as illness and disability, advice on accessing services, and one-on-one support whenever they need it. Through this, the project hopes to give young carers the improved opportunities they need for their own future, giving them back the chance to enjoy their time as young people and achieve their goals. They focus on working within families, supporting the family unit as a whole to strengthen relationships within the family of the young carer. They also offer a young carers’ forum, where young carers can share their views and talk to others in the same situation as them. It is vital that young carers do not feel alone or abandoned whilst caring for a family member, and this platform provides the much-needed opportunity to simply talk, listen and share opinions. The service also aims to help young carers reduce the role they have in caring, or even stop it altogether, with support from outside organisations. If you want more information on The Bridge, go to www.family-action.org.uk.

So, how can you help? In Durham, you can get involved in the SCA’s Young Carers group project. This aims to provide young carers with some much-needed respite, time to have fun and talk about any issues they may be having. There is a range of activities depending on the age of the young carer group in question; one week the project may be doing painting and sticking with youngsters, and the next it may involve discussions with young teen carers about any problems they may be facing. The project is an incredibly rewarding one to be involved in, and makes a vast difference to the young carers it helps. It is essential that they have the opportunity to get away from the daily life of caring for their family member, and this project allows them to do just that. The project runs on Thursdays, 4–6pm, and transport around Durham is provided. If you want to get involved, contact Olivia at youngcarers.sca@durham.ac.uk.

Original article: The Bubble

Beyond a Tin of Food Campaign

As the lead up to the Christmas season approaches and the truly cold November weather hits, you may find yourself frequently rooting around in your cupboard for food to warm the cockles, or thinking about that glorious Christmas dinner that’s soon to be consumed. But many people in the country struggle to get through the days fed and well-nourished, let alone get to even think about treating themselves to warming winter food.

Did you know that in the last three years the amount of people using food banks has increased by 610% to 1 million people nationwide? Of those helped, 330,205 were children. Food poverty is happening right here on your doorstep – Durham is one of the worst affected areas in the country. On Wednesday 12th November, at 1–4pm, the Durham Food Poverty Awareness Afternoon will aim to raise awareness of food poverty in Durham and the country as a whole. This event will be run by Durham Team v volunteers as part of their ‘Beyond a Tin of Food’ campaign. Come along to Durham town centre to learn more about food poverty and how you can help. At the stall there will also be postcards for people to send out to MPs in their home constituencies about food poverty in their area, in order to try and spread the awareness even further afield.

On the whole, very little is known about the harsh realities of food poverty; we rarely consider it and sometimes take food for granted. To coin a phrase, knowledge is power – without people learning about the problem at hand, we will never truly be able to tackle it. Before I got involved with Team v, I didn’t realise that people had to be referred to food banks in order to receive food from them. This often means people getting to a severely malnourished state before being referred by their doctor, or a teacher noticing that a child isn’t eating properly.

Even then, people still struggle immensely post-referral. For instance, they may experience problems with cooking the food when they return with it. People on low incomes may not have the money to own an oven or pay energy bills; they may simply be unable to cook it. Equally, with the layout of Durham so divided between rural and urban spaces, this can lead to difficulties in getting to the foodbank. One foodbank client told of having to walk for seven miles to the food bank with a pram to carry the food, and then walking another seven miles back to their home. Fortunately, due to the tireless work of the foodbank volunteers, Durham Foodbank is able to deliver emergency food boxes to those who need it – but their supplies are always limited. This is why they need your help and your donations. The Awareness Afternoon on Wednesday will give people the opportunity to donate much-needed food for Durham Foodbank. We will also be collecting toothbrushes, nappies, tampons and other similar essentials.

The event is set to coincide with the Hunger Challenge on 11th-13th November, which some of the members of Team v are carrying out. During this time you buy and live solely off the food items you would be given if you went to a food bank and received three day’s emergency food supplies. The Newcastle East food bank parcel which would be handed out to one individual requiring emergency food aid consists of the following items:

1 small box of cereal

2 cans of soup/1 packet of soup

2 small tins of beans/spaghetti in tomato sauce

2 small tinned tomatoes/pasta sauce

2 small tinned vegetables

2 small tins of meat or vegetarian alternative

1 small tin of fish e.g. tuna

2 small tinned fruit

1 standard tin of rice pudding

1 small packet of biscuits

500g sugar

500g pasta, rice or noodles

40 tea bags/1 small jar of coffee

1 carton of juice/1 bottle of squash

1 carton of long life milk/1 packet of powdered milk

By documenting the experiences of people who do the challenge, we can further raise the profile of food poverty. This is the only way it will be recognised by politicians as urgently needing to be tackled. If you wish to get involved, use #beyondfood to follow the campaign on Twitter and to discuss your own experience of the Hunger Challenge.

For more information on the Team v campaign against food poverty and to see how you can get involved, check out the following website: https://vinspired.com/beyond-food. For more information on food banks and how to find your nearest organisation visit: http://www.trusselltrust.org/foodbank-projects.

Original article: The Bubble - Causes