Building Equity. Empowering Youth Caregivers. Educating Communities. Transforming Lives.
COYE (Caregivers Outreach: Youth Empowerment) identifies, supports, and advocates for youth ages 10–21 who provide unpaid care to loved ones experiencing illness, disability, mental health challenges, substance use disorders, or terminal diagnosis.
If you help take care of someone at home a parent, grandparent, sibling, or loved one this space is for you.
IF YOU ARE HELPING SOMEONE AT HOME AND WONDERING WHETHER IT COUNTS — IT DOES.
I am a
What Is a Youth Caregiver?
You might not call yourself a caregiver. But if you help take care of someone in your family, you may be one.
A youth caregiver is a young person typically between ages 10–18 (and up to age 21 during transition years) who provides regular emotional, physical, or household support to a family member who is aging, ill, living with a disability, or managing a mental health or substance use condition.
Youth caregivers may:
Remind someone to take medication
Help younger siblings with meals or homework
Translate at medical appointments
Provide emotional support during illness
Take on adult-level household responsibilities
None of this makes you “too grown.” It makes you important and deserving of support.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Millions of young people are quietly doing what you’re doing. And recognition is the first step toward real support.
“I didn’t realize I was a caregiver. I just thought I was helping.”
— 14-year-old caregiver
Youth Caregiver: The Facts
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5.4 million youth caregivers under age 18 in the United States
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72% care for a parent or grandparent
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In a Bronx pilot study (2015), 43% of surveyed middle and high school students identified as youth caregivers
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Youth caregiving is associated with increased absenteeism, academic strain, and emotional stress
Despite these realities, there is no standardized identification pathway within education or healthcare systems.
Hear the Voices of Youth Caregivers
Youth caregivers are not statistics they are students, siblings, advocates, and future leaders.
Bronx-Based | Established 2006 | Youth Initiative Launched 2015 | Cross-Sector Partnerships | Research-Informed | Policy-Aligned
Two Core Models.One Coordinated Framework.
COYE operates through two core models designed to ensure youth caregivers are identified early, supported appropriately, and recognized within public systems.
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