Boca Raton , Florida ( CNN ) -- At 13 years old , Nickolaus Dent is his mother 's primary caregiver . He 's responsible for the grocery shopping and cooking . He cleans the house . He does all the laundry . His mother , Janine Helms , has been battling HIV for as long as Nickolaus can recall , and her health has deteriorated in the last couple of years . Nickolaus makes sure she takes her medication . He often helps her get dressed , and at times , he has helped her bathe . Nickolaus ' father died two years ago . Since then , ensuring Helms ' well-being has been a full-time job for Nickolaus , leaving him with little energy to socialize or study . `` It does make it hard to pay attention in class , '' he said . `` Helping her out is a bigger priority than going to school and getting ( an ) education , because I feel if I do n't have her , I do n't want to go to school . Whatever happens to her happens to me . '' Nickolaus is just one of the estimated 10,000 youth caregivers living in Palm Beach County , Florida , according to the American Association of Caregiving Youth . The nonprofit , founded by county resident Connie Siskowski , was instrumental in bringing this previously unrecognized population to light in 2002 , and it has since provided support to more than 500 area youths who are caring for an ill , disabled or aging family member . `` No child in the United States should have to drop out of school because of caregiving , '' said Siskowski , 65 . `` These children suffer silently behind closed doors . ... They do n't have the help and the support and the recognition that they need . '' According to a 2006 study conducted by Civic Enterprises for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , 22 % of high school dropouts in the United States leave school to care for a family member ( PDF ) . It 's these children who Siskowski had in mind when her group started the Caregiving Youth Project at Boca Raton Middle School . The project , the first of its kind in the nation , aims to intervene early on in the academic lives of youth caregivers . Special classes , led by a mental-health professional or social worker , cover topics such as coping with stress and anger , managing finances and setting goals . Periodic field trips and overnight camps offer recreational , social and educational activities . There are home-care demonstrations and workshops . The program also makes teachers and school administrators more aware of the children 's extenuating circumstances and how they can lead to truancy , absenteeism and dips in academic performance . The hope is to reduce the negative effects -- anxiety , depression and feelings of isolation -- that caregiving responsibilities can have on a child 's mental , physical and emotional health . `` We ca n't change the health condition of the person ( receiving care ) , '' Siskowski said . `` But what we can do is provide the skills and the resources and the value to the children so that they can have a little more balance in their life . And also so that they know that they 're not alone . '' Since 2006 , the program has been introduced into eight area middle schools and followed hundreds of students into 17 area high schools . `` We stay with them to graduation , and it 's amazing , '' Siskowski said . `` We 've watched these kids grow up before our eyes . It 's nothing that happens overnight , but it 's very gratifying . It 's like , 'OK , there 's one more kid that 's going to make it . ' `` Nickolaus joined the program last year . The group provided him with a computer , a bed , clothing and tutoring . Now , he has raised his grades and aims to make the honor roll . He was also able to attend the group 's overnight camp while a nurse 's aide stayed with his mom . `` I found out there are more people that do the things I do , and some do more , '' he said . `` Now I 'm getting As and Bs , and I feel more confident in school . '' Children in the program are also offered a home study by a medically licensed staff member or contractor who assesses what skills and resources are most needed to support a child . Working with dozens of community partners , Siskowski 's group helps families with unique needs . `` We 've provided clean-water systems and enlisted the support of community members to build wheelchair ramps or relocate a family from a moldy environment , '' said Siskowski , whose group relies solely on donations and grants . `` We 've provided in-home tutoring , light cleaning , translation and transportation support , counseling , access to medical care , financial assistance and food resources . `` We 've donated computers and printers . And slow cookers , as we 've had several fires in homes where children are cooking for their families . '' Do you know a hero ? Nominations are open for 2013 CNN Heroes . Siskowski knows the toll that caring for a loved one can take . As an 11-year-old , she cared for her grandfather until his death two years later . She remembers waking up at 2 a.m. to give him his medication and finding that he had died . `` I do n't think I realized he was going to die . No one prepared me for that , '' she said . `` It was very traumatic . But way back then , nobody really appreciated the trauma or the impact of losing someone . '' Siskowski became a registered nurse in 1967 and has worked in Florida 's health-care community for decades . Over the years , she has witnessed how technological advances have affected aging baby boomers and their families . `` People are living longer , '' she said . `` We have much more technology and electronics that are available . ... More and more people who maybe yesterday would 've been in a nursing home are being cared for at home . And so that puts a burden on a family . `` The hospital is in a unique situation . ... Technically , they 're supposed to be able to give instruction to a caregiver . But sometimes that caregiver is a child . '' The tasks can be sophisticated , too , from monitoring respiratory devices to cleaning catheters and preparing syringes . And not all of the children are caring for just one parent like Nickolaus . Others have to care for multiple family members , including siblings . A report released in 2005 ( PDF ) by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the United Hospital Fund said there were at least 1.3 million caregiving youths , ages 8 to 18 , nationwide . It 's a population that has been virtually hidden for several reasons , including the reluctance of many sick parents to go public with their infirmity . `` Parents are embarrassed to tell school members , or the principal , that they have medical problems . ... Their pride goes out the window , and most feel more vulnerable , '' Helms said . Children also fear trouble for themselves and for their families . While they might know that too many truancies and absences could land them in court , they 're often more fearful that a parent could be deemed incapacitated and the family split up . `` Children are afraid to reach out because they do n't want to be taken away from the parent , '' Helms said . `` It 's scary . And people do n't want to be near you when you have an illness . It 's just as hard on the disabled parent as it is the child , to open up . That 's why it 's kept like under the table . '' Siskowski and her group are determined to create other options and provide other solutions . She says the first step is acknowledging youth caregivers and telling them they are not alone . `` We have definitely turned around lives and kept kids in school because they feel valued , '' she said . `` They never knew anyone noticed or cared . `` It can turn their frustration and anger and flip it around to feel valued and supported in the role they are having for the family as well as society . If they were n't doing some of the things they are doing , who would be ? '' Want to get involved ? Check out the American Association of Caregiving Youth website at www.aacy.org and see how to help .
In many U.S. households , children have to take care of sick or aging family members . A group started by CNN Hero Connie Siskowski is helping support these young people . There are an estimated 10,000 youth caregivers in her Florida county alone . Do you know a hero ? Nominations are open for 2013 CNN Heroes .