Belle was 12 years old when she began caring for her granddad. 

By the time she was 16, Belle was overwhelmed, frustrated, and simply wanted to be a normal teenager.  When she was interviewed by Nadine in November of 2022, she was a Junior in high school, doing well academically with a 3.4 GPA and participating in one extra-curricular activity at school. 

Being on the drill team was her only outlet.  She loved dancing but was rarely able to go out with the team after practice or a game because of her caregiving responsibilities. Belle had earned her CNA license. When told how admirable it was that she was caring for her granddad and that we would like to celebrate her, Belle said: 

"I don’t want to be celebrated, I need help."

Fast forward a year later. Belle has left Denver and is living in Dallas in a motel room with an older sibling.  Her granddad passed and Belle didn’t come back for his services. Belle will be 18 next year and she’s currently not in school.   There were no support services for Belle and no safety net to keep her from falling through the cracks. 

In 2022, in collaboration with the American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) and a coalition of organizations across Colorado, TCG spearheaded an effort to include caregiving-related questions in the Colorado Healthy Kids bi-annual survey. This groundbreaking initiative marked the first time the state would collect data on caregiving from middle and high school students. The expected results in June 2024 will shed light on the number of youth caregivers across Colorado. 

In August 2023, TCGE&A officially became a non-profit organization.