Paper Title
REDUCING THE YOUNG CARER BURDEN: BENEFITS OF SUPPORTING THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF YOUNG CAREGIVERS

Abstract
Internationally there are over 63 million caregivers, however this statistic does not take into consideration an extremely vulnerable and impacted subset (International Alliance of Carer Organizations, 2021). Young Caregivers are those under the age of 25 years, who provide various forms of unpaid support within their homes including medical, physical, and emotional support to a loved one such as a parent(s), grandparent(s), or sibling(s). Within Canada, this demographic makes up over an estimated 1.25 million individuals, 1.4 million in the United States, and 1 million in the United Kingdom alone (Hunt, et. al, 2005; Carers Trust, 2023). Societally, caregiving is a term we see societally ascribed adult aged individuals, within both family and professional based settings. Research suggests that individuals within these family, and professional caregiving roles, are at a higher risk than their peers at developing mental health impacts, primarily depression, anxiety, compassion fatigue and burnout. Due to these heightened risks, support has been put in place for both adult aged family caregivers and professional caregivers across the globe. Looking at young caregivers, who provide a similar level of care, research shows that they experience the same heightened risks as adult caregivers. Additionally, these young caregivers are vulnerable to a variety of additional risks including higher stress levels, decreased opportunity for physical activity, high levels of loneliness, lower self-esteem, social and developmental concerns and caregiver burden (Stamatopoulos, 2018). However, through an extensive review of the literature, coupled with the lived experience of Canadian young carers, we seek to highlight not only the risk on these children and adolescents’ mental health, but also how identification, intervention and support can mediate these concerns and turn these risks into growth opportunities. Keywords - Youth Mental Health, Mental Health, Risks, Children, Adolescents, Caregiver, Young Caregiver, Family Caregiver