Create's Striking Street Mural Reveals the Stark Truth of Young Carers

Create, a UK charity that empowers lives through the creative arts, has today unveiled a striking street art mural in Shoreditch. 

The wall has been painted black and poses the question ‘Could you use a needle at 9 years old?’ in bold red lettering.

The campaign, developed by VCCP in partnership with Global Street Art, aims to raise awareness for the work that charity Create does, particularly for young carers in the UK. 

While most of us never had to find out if we could use a needle at age nine, this is a reality for many young children across the country who act as a primary caregiver for loved ones. 

Young carers are a vulnerable group of children who often experience bullying, isolation and mental ill-health. Most of the 700,000 young carers in Britain take on up to 20 hours of caring responsibilities a week. Some care for more than 50.

Create’s creative arts programmes with young carers enable them to express themselves and develop confidence, self-esteem and supportive relationships with other young carers. They also give them a vital break from their caring responsibilities.

This is just one of the many ways that Create helps the most disadvantaged children and adults within society. You can find out more about this particular project, and Create’s wider work, here. 

Nicky Goulder, chief executive at Create, said: “There are over 700,000 young carers in the UK, some as young four years old. Many of these young carers are responsible for tasks that adults could find daunting, such as being in charge of family finances and administering lifesaving medication on a daily basis. At Create we understand the impact that these responsibilities can have on a young child. By developing and running carefully tailored creative arts projects in partnership with young carer services, we enable these vulnerable children to foster friendships, build new skills, increase confidence and self-esteem and take vital time away from their caring responsibilities to have fun. We are deeply committed to enhancing their wellbeing.”

Jim Thornton, deputy executive creative director at VCCP, said: “In a country that seems wilfully to disregard the mental health, social and intellectual benefits of the arts in education, we believe the work Create does with the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in society is about as important as it gets. We believe the charity’s work is so important, it should be a household name and this powerful piece of street art is just the beginning.”