Addison Colley – Child of Courage nominee

Addison Colley – Child of Courage nominee

At the age of just nine years Addison Colley is a carer for her older brother who has SEND and mental health needs, supporting him emotionally and mentally.

She also helps relieve the pressure of her mum and nan’s primary caring roles by helping with grocery shopping and responsibilities around the house.

Addison, from Newstead, has been nominated in the Child of Courage category of the Your Heroes Awards by Jess Graham from North Staffs Carers.

Jess said: “As you can imagine Addison is impacted by her older brother’s behaviour on a regular basis and worries about him when he is feeling unwell. His SEND needs impact the family unit as a whole and can mean that the family cannot have family days out and holidays are limited.

“This doesn’t stop Addison loving and caring for her other brother but does mean that she sometimes needs respite away from the home with other young carers. When Addison comes to the young carers activities she is aways smiling. She likes coming to our pizza and movie nights and its always lovely having a chat with her.”

Addison’s mum, Tonimarie Hall, said: “When we heard Addison had been recognised and nominated for the Your Heroes Awards we were so incredibly proud. We hope this helps Addison see how truly wonderful she is and helps to build her confidence and self-belief.

“Growing up, Addison and her brother were always really close, spending time together making up their own games and creating craft projects like giant cat houses and robots out of cardboard boxes and whatever else they could find around the house. They would both enjoy watching Christmas films in the middle of summer, closing the curtains and grabbing blankets to block out the sun.

“As her brother has grown older they still find things to do together, but as his struggles have increased Addison has always been extremely conscious of his needs and constantly wants to make things better. He has recently discovered a love for fishing and Addison is really keen to take part, learn all about it and share that hobby with him. We’re so hopeful it will be something we can all enjoy doing together as a family.

“She is a huge help to me in more ways than she will ever realise. As Jess mentioned, Addison loves getting her own trolley, grabbing a shopping list, and working her way around Aldi. She also loves helping to cook tea and making a mess in the name of washing the dishes.”

She said Addison loves animals and pets, swimming, gymnastics, skiing, has recently started Pony Club at school and is loving riding and learning how to care for the horses.

She added: “Addison is very aware of the difficulties we face in getting her brother the help and support he needs and she has often felt worried at home due to how quickly things can change.

“There are many things we haven’t been able to do as a family due to his needs so joining Young Carers has been invaluable for her. It gives her something that is just for her and offers opportunities to take part in activities she wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. She always looks forward to the sessions whether they are craft sessions, movie and pizza nights or her favourite activity sessions at the YMCA like rock climbing and roller skating.”