"I am a young carer. I am 18 and live in Powys.

I started caring when I was 10-years-old for my mother who had depression and an alcohol problem. At the time we were living in England along with my younger brother.

I had to make sure my mother had someone there for her at all times seeing as she was drinking all the time. This went on for two years till she met someone who became my stepdad.

He seemed to be such a nice guy for the first year until my mum fell pregnant.

He started drinking loads and getting us in debt as my brother and I had to sell our stuff to get money to live.

Then, when I was in the first year of high school we had to sell our house and we moved to Wales. My mum was still pregnant.

We didn't find somewhere to live at first so we had to live in a tent.

This is when my stepdad started getting violent so I knew I would have to look after my mum again because it made her really depressed.

We finally found a house in South Wales. My mum gave birth to my brother and now I was not just making sure my mum was OK I was also looking after my baby brother even though I was only a teenager.

I was babysitting all the time while my mum went to the pub or was too drunk to look after herself. My stepdad would go to work, come home, have a sleep, then some dinner, then go to the pub and never spent any time with his son, my brother.

I was putting him to bed making sure he was fed, changing his nappy and educating him.

I never had time to go out and socialise and was always really tired in school.

A year went by and we moved again, only up the road, and my mum had met someone who I thought was really bad news. She became her best mate. She had several children and was also an alcoholic.

After a while I had to babysit my brother and my mum's mates' children all at the same time and her children were aged from one to eleven.

Even though I had school the next day they wouldn't come home until about seven or eight in the morning, so I wouldn't make it to school. This happened at least three times a week.

A year later I called social services because of my stepdad's violence and he was asked to move away.

My mum then took him back and we were all taken in to care.

I am now living on my own. My middle brother is living with our dad and my baby brother is living with with his dad because my mother died in 2003.

I never knew that I was a young carer until I moved to Powys and met Sue Hitch of Powys Young Carers. By then it was too late to get help as I wasn't caring any more.

All these experiences have made me a stronger person although it has also made me depressed in the past.

I am now involved with Powys Young Carers, to help young carers of the future with their wants and needs.We have also put a presentation together to help people understand about young carers."

Article by a young carer from Powys.