A BRIDPORT organisation is partnering with a political theatre company to raise awareness and help identify Dorset's young carers.

LUNG Theatre will perform at Bridport Arts Centre on Friday, November 12 as part of its 'Who Cares' tour. The aim of the tour is to raise awareness and challenge perceptions of young carers and to use theatre to identify and signpost unknown young carers in the area to local services.

A young carer is someone under the age of 18 who looks after or helps to look after someone. The person they care for might be a parent, grandparent, sibling or a close relative. This often means doing things like cooking, cleaning, shopping, giving medication or just talking and helping when the person they care for is struggling.

The first performance will be a closed-show for students of the Sir John Colfox Academy and Woodroffe School. This will be followed by a performance at 7.30pm which will be open to the general public and will be followed by a post-show Q&A session with various professionals, including the chief executive of Carer Support Dorset (CSD), Judy Walker, and other young carer services locally. CSD staff will also be present to speak to people about young carers.

As well as this, there will be a 'Continuous Professional Development' workshop for professionals on how they can support young carers.

Judy Walker, chief executive of Carer Support Dorset, said: “We are delighted to be working with LUNG Theatre on raising awareness of young carers. It is estimated that there are over 800,000 young carers in the UK, with many of them being ‘hidden’. BBC research also indicates that 62 per cent of young carers experience bullying.

"There are lots of ways in which Carer Support Dorset, a young carer’s school and other organisations can help support them through their caring journey.

“By working closely with the community, the Sir John Colfox Academy and Woodroffe School, we are hoping there’s more recognition for young carer and that more young carers step forward to receive the support they deserve.”

Tickets for the evening performance of 'Who Cares' are available from directly from the Bridport Arts Centre.

Young carers can find out more information on Carer Support Dorset’s service by visiting www.carersupportdorset.co.uk/young-carers/