Omarion Calloway was ten years old when he began memorizing seizure protocols, changing diapers, and holding his grandmother steady in the bathtub. While his peers focused on school and play, he was learning the language of survival in silence. Now, he is breaking that silence with More Than Survival: A Guideline for Young Caregivers, a free, lived-experience guide offering lessons and hope for the millions of children across America quietly carrying adult responsibilities.
"I wasn't supposed to know how to bathe my uncle or feed my grandmother at ten years old," Calloway says. "But I did, because they needed me." His days involved scrubbing sheets, cooking meals, and interpreting his uncle's gestures when speech became difficult. He bathed his grandmother and managed her medication schedule as she battled cancer, often swallowing his grief alone at night while his mother worked two jobs.
By thirteen, his grandmother had passed away. His uncle died before Calloway reached college. "There is a guilt in feeling relief," he admits. "Because when the exhaustion ends, you realize it only ended because someone you loved is gone." Despite experiencing homelessness and bullying, Calloway earned over $1.3 million in scholarships and is set to graduate from New York University in 2026, the same year his mother will receive her degree.
Calloway's story is far from unique. Over 5.4 million children in the United States are young caregivers, with many being Black and Brown youth disproportionately burdened with unseen responsibilities. "Young caregivers are invisible," Calloway explains. "Nobody asks what it does to a child to spend their days lifting adults, managing medications, then show up to school like nothing happened."
This invisibility points to systemic issues in healthcare and support services. Without affordable home care or respite services, children often become untrained, unacknowledged gap-fillers for their families. "These aren't chores," Calloway says. "They're life-or-death responsibilities."
His guide, available at www.MoreThanSurvivalGuide.com, blends his personal narrative with practical sections on self-care, mental health, and maintaining hope. It includes a letter titled "To the One Still Standing," which reads in part: "I am proud of you. Proud of the nights you didn't give up... Because one day, you'll look back and realize you didn't just survive—you built something beautiful out of brokenness."
The guide is a precursor to Calloway's larger initiative, WeRiseLoud, which aims to amplify the voices of young caregivers and advocate for systemic change through workshops, school partnerships, and public speaking. His work underscores a critical, often overlooked reality in American households and highlights the urgent need for recognition and support for child caregivers who navigate adult burdens in silence.
