By Tom Barton

14 Aug, 2002

Page 11

JONATHAN Owen was seen by his teachers as a troublemaker while he was studying for his GCSEs. He rarely went to school, and when he did he would often be caught smoking or falling asleep in class.

But far from being naughty or lazy, school was the only time he could have time to himself, away from looking after his mother and grandmother - both of whom had arthritis.

When he was 15, Jonathan was put in touch with a Barnardo's project for young carers - this week celebrating six years of success - which let him relax away from his responsibilities, and gave him a fresh start at school.

And last year Jonathan, now 19, took a job with the project, which helps more than 160 children in Flintshire deal with what are sometimes very heavy duties at home.

This week, The Young Carers Project is running fun days for the children - and yesterday 28 children under 11 who look after a parent or sibling with special needs, spent the day in art and music workshops, including building an enormous inflatable sculpture.

'The project is about giving young people a break. Often they don't have time to go out with friends, sometimes even to the shops,' he said.

Jonathan's involvement with the project allowed him to deal with his responsibility, which included getting up at six each morning to cook breakfast for his family at home, and for his grandmother at her house.

'The group is so close, your peers are there all the time to give you support and help you out when you are down,' he said. 'As soon as I joined the project it all changed. I started going to school, my grades improved, and I decided to go on to college.

'I decided this was something I wanted to do - that if it could have that effect on me then I could help other young people to deal with the challenges they face as carers. So I went to college, got my GNVQ in health and social care, and then got a job working for the scheme.'

* The fun day tomorrow is open to the public at the Welsh Horticultural College, Northop.