'Today Show' profiles Palm Beach County youth caregiver story

For nearly 500 students in the Palm Beach County School District there is no such thing as a summer break.

WPTV anchor Hollani Davis profiled one of those students earlier this year.

Jacob Gutierrez is 14 years old. Instead of going to school, playing sports and living a carefree life, he juggles those responsibilities on top of caring for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and his grandmother, who has dementia.

The Today Show recently aired a story about Jacob and his family, months after our story that we found out about at Let's Hear It, an informal monthly meet up with WPTV viewers and reporters.

Jacob's mother explained what "mom guilt" means to her.

Let's Hear It

Hundreds of children in Palm Beach County are youth caregivers

Hollani Davis 9:42 AM, Apr 17, 2024

"I do worry about him. I want him to be a normal 14-year-old child, not at school stressing about mommy who's not feeling good," said Jennifer Gutierrez.

The American Association of Caregiving Youth is an advocacy group for youth caregivers based in Boca Raton. The organization works with the Palm Beach County School District to identify youth caregivers and implement support programs that include linking them with mentors. The founder, Connie Siskowski, says these kids are at a higher risk for depression and more likely to drop out of school because of their adult responsibilities.

"It's harder for them to concentrate and so when you can't concentrate, you can't learn," said Siskowski.

The Today Show reports child caregivers are most common in families of color, equating to nearly a fifth of families from Latinx, African American and Asian households.