Family Voice listens intently to the needs of parents and carers of children and young people aged 0—25 years with a disability or additional needs. Like us, they put parent carers at the centre of their work. In their case, helping them to be heard. We were delighted to meet Katie Barnett and Asta Remezaite of Family Voice Peterborough as we continue our roadshow of visits to our Referrers in this region.
Referrers are charities too
Our growing network of Referrers are often charities like us. These are organisations who work with carers on a daily basis and become our eyes and ears. Simply put, they support carers in different ways but they know when someone qualifies for a free break at Kingham Cottage. This is why they are so important to us. On our behalf, they certify that a carer is looking after a loved one with a life-limiting condition. And thus meet our criteria for a free break. They help us achieve our ambition of reaching carers across the country so they can enjoy the wellbeing benefits of a free break.
Individually, we put parent carers and their children at the centre of our work. Together, we can increase the chances of giving unpaid carers an opportunity to rest, re-charge and return to their caring duties rejuvenated.
Kate and Asta explained how every county has a Parent Carer Forum. Some operate under the name of Family Voice. Others are called PinPoint for example such as the one in Cambridgeshire. We are reaching out to all Parent Carer Forum’s to offer their beneficiaries a free break at Kingham Cottage. If you know someone working at one of their regional offices, please do urge them to get in touch via tracy@afterumbrage.org.uk. We are happy to explain how we work and how we can support their carers.
Another great service for carers
Local Offer is another service that was brought to our attention. We understand it is a requirement of local authorities. They are to set out a local offer “of all services available to support children who are disabled or who have Special Educational Needs (SEN) and their families.”
Local authorities publish details of all the provisions they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people in their area.
We will endeavour to add After Umbrage to the list of services included in the Local Offer across the country. If you can help with this, please get in touch with tracy@afterumbrage.org.uk. Thank you.