Emmerdale's Jay Kontzle takes time away from soap to support cause very close to his heart

Jay joined kinship carers at a tea party at Just Grand! Vintage Tearoom, in New Briggate, Leeds, as part of Kinship Care Week
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An Emmerdale star has taken some time away from the ITV soap to support a cause incredibly close to his heart.

Actor Jay Kontzle, who plays Billy Fletcher in Emmerdale, has celebrated kinship carers and the huge contributions they make to the lives of nearly 3,000 local children and young people in the Leeds area. This support has come as part of national Kinship Care Week.

It ran as a national awareness week aiming to celebrate the vital role kinship carers play in children’s lives and in our society. Kinship carers are family members or friends who step up to raise a child or children whose parents are unable to care for them.

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Jay joined kinship carers at a tea party at Just Grand! Vintage Tearoom, in New Briggate, Leeds, for a meet which was organised by leading kinship care charity Kinship.

Jay Kontzle, a father-of-three was raised by his grandparents, Ann and Mike Kontzle, after his mum died when he was just four. He has teamed up with the charity Kinship to call on the government for more urgent financial and emotional support.

Emmerdale's Jay Kontzle, a father-of-three was raised by his grandparents, Ann and Mike Kontzle
Emmerdale's Jay Kontzle, a father-of-three was raised by his grandparents, Ann and Mike Kontzle

Jay said: “Kinship Care Week is an important time to recognise the thousands of kinship carers like my grandparents who raise 141,000 children in England and Wales, that’s nearly three times the number in foster care, but most kinship carers don’t get the same financial, emotional or practical support.

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“If it wasn’t for my grandparents I’d be in care. They gave me so much love and sacrificed so much to bring me up. My nan had to quit her job as a nurse to look after me, and my grandad had to work night shifts to earn more money. They really struggled to get by and used their pensions to care for me. Kinship carers deserve and need to be properly supported and recognised.”

There are 2,783 children being raised in kinship care in the Leeds constituency.

West Yorkshire Kinship project worker Catherine Phillips said: “Kinship Care Week is a wonderful week when hundreds of thousands of kinship carers get together across Leeds and the rest of the country and celebrate the important contribution they’re making to the lives of children who need them.

“When you step up to raise the child of a relative or friend, you face so many challenges and many kinship families struggle to find the support they need. But the one thing kinship carers all have in common is they’d do it all again just to be there every day for the children in their care. It’s been amazing to celebrate Kinship Care Week and see kinship families get some of the recognition they deserve.”

You can find out more about the support available by visiting the Kinship website.

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