Features

Keeping care in the family

12 mins read Kinship care
It is estimated that up to 300,000 children live with grandparents, other family members or friends because they cannot live with their parents. Jo Stephenson looks at the challenges and the state of support for the country's army of kinship carers.

When Amy O'Donohoe was 14, she and her brother went to live with their aunt. They were moving from a home life made difficult by their mum's substance and alcohol abuse to a safe and stable environment where they were later joined by their baby sister.

"My aunt and I were already quite close and it meant me and my siblings could stay together, which was hugely important for us," says Amy. "We were used to supporting each other because of never being cared for at home." Yet it wasn't easy forming a new family unit, explains Amy, whose aunt had two children of her own. "We started off with a three-bedroom house with me and my brother sharing a bedroom with my cousin. We had to sleep on the floor and it took months for us to get a bunk bed," she says.

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