6.5 – How to find support
We all need support in the form of someone to talk to: advice, some guidance or to be with people that understand us or our situation. In Session 1 of this course we asked you if you have any support. Whether you do or not there will still be times when you need some additional advice and support.
| Area of life | Where you might need support |
|---|---|
| Parenting | Behaviour. Worries. Growing up. |
| Ex partner | House. Finances. Contact with children. |
| Debt | Struggling to survive financially. |
| Loneliness | Loss of support and companionship after separation or moving away. |
| Domestic Violence | Even when we are safe we may still need to think about the effects. |
| Studying/Training | What can we do? Can we afford it? |
| Work | How to find sustainable employment. Do we have the skills? What kind of work do we enjoy? |
| Confidence | How to raise it and feel better. |
| Health/Fitness | Keeping well physically and mentally. |
| School | Dealing with any problems assertively. |
| Family | Who doesn’t have issues there sometimes? |
| Housing | Suitability. Paying rent/mortgage. Repairs. |
| Drugs and alcohol | Do you or do your children misuse drugs and alcohol? |
| Legal | About ourselves or our children. |
| New relationships | How to fit them in. Telling children. Stepfamilies. |
| CMS (used to be Child Suppoer Agency) | Finding advice and help with forms. |
| Benefits/Tax Credits | Are you getting all you’re entitled to? |
| Counselling | Past experiences. Bereavement. |
| Childcare | What’s available and where? |
| Refugee or Asylum Status | Rights. |
| Racism | It’s not acceptable. Who can help? |
| Keeping Children Safe | Internet safety. Community safety. |
How will you find out what support is around? Think about where it might be, how you will find it and who may help you.
Top tips for finding local support
- Check out your local authority’s website – they usually have a search box where you can search for support services.
- Put specific key words into a search engine e.g. ‘Children’s Centres’, ‘Youth Services’, ‘Debt Advice’, ‘Council for Voluntary Services’ or ‘Housing Support’ followed by the name of your town/county/borough.
- Ask at your children’s toddler group or school/nursery.
- Ask the doctor, health visitor, midwife, family planning or school nurse.
- Find a local community centre – pop in, check out the workers and notice boards.
- Find a good site for something specific (eg Women’s Aid for domestic violence or Shelter for housing) and look at their ‘Useful Links’.
- Talk to your friends and neighbours or join groups on Facebook – people will often share useful information and things that have helped them.
- Ask at your local church/faith group.
- Ask or check out notice boards at your local leisure centre, library and supermarket.
- Visit the Helplines Paretnership’s website to find if there is a helpline to help with your situation.
It can be very daunting to deal with difficult issues on your own, especially as these problems always seem to come all at the same time. A useful technique is to deal with problems one at a time, to split them up and only address them when you are ready for them.
In your Journal/Diary, make a list of at least three things for which you think you might need some support, advice or guidance. For each, think of some local help you can get. Some internet searches might help you, and also try our Life Check Tool.
Good work. Take a deep breath, make some calls, drop into some organisations and use what’s out there to support yourself and your family.
Next: 6.6 – Helping children to learnBack: 6.4 – Dealing with your own children’s behaviour – feedback