Early Help community offer for adults (parents, carers)

Being a parent or carer has many challenges, from meeting the different practical and emotional needs of your children, to dealing with issues in your own couple relationship, to managing your home and money.

Everyone needs some help and support from time to time. It is important you know how to get help when you need it to prevent things from getting worse.

Services that can provide you and your family with ‘Early Help’ can be accessed in different ways depending on:

your needs
where you feel most able to seek support.

Some of us have strong support networks made up of our family and friends who can help us when we need them. Others, dealing with something particularly difficult, may need some support from services or professionals within the community.

Check the sections below for 3 different types of Early Help support available depending on the needs of your family.

Universal support

These services are available to everyone and we use them on a regular basis. To meet the basic needs of your family, you will need to use services, such as:

education
midwifery
health visiting
GP’s.

Other services that can support the general wellbeing of your family through activities and spaces within the community are:

libraries
voluntary groups
community hubs.

Find universal support services.

Additional support

If the general universal services in your area isn’t meeting the needs of your family, you can get additional support by talking to:

a school professional
your GP
a specific community support group.

You may need this additional support if:

your child is having difficulty at school
your child is struggling to follow boundaries at home and this is causing problems
you are experiencing damp and mould in your home
you or your partner have lost your job and are struggling to make ends meet
you are experiencing low mood and feeling isolated

The services will:

assess your needs
make a plan to support you and your family through a ‘Team Around the Child and their Family’ process
make sure the plan is working and you are getting the support you need.

Targeted support

When:

there are a number of challenges impacting your family or
the additional support that you have been given isn’t helping

a Family Support Worker or Targeted Youth Worker may be able to offer further support.

Working with you, your children, other family members, professionals and services, they will:

complete an Early Help Assessment
create an action plan with everyone to find a way to make things better.

Everyone will work together to support your family through a ‘Team Around the Child and their Family’ process where you will be part of the ‘team’ who meet regularly to: