St Helens Council Family Support & Volunteering / Befriending Service April 2016

St Helens Council has a requirement for a Family Support & Volunteering / Befriending Service as detailed below. The successful Provider will be required to deliver practical and emotional support to families who are experiencing difficulty. This support will be provided primarily in their own homes. This work must be undertaken by a pool of trained volunteers. The service will be volunteer-led and perceived by families and young people to be independent of the local authority (and other statutory services) and be accessible and approachable. The Provider can subcontract elements to other organisations if needed. The Family Support service will undertake work with families who are referred by professionals as experiencing difficulties or suffering stress and needing extra support. They will also accept self-referrals from families who meet the criteria. The service will work with agencies to generate appropriate referrals to the service. This support will be offered to families primarily in their own homes (and other community-based venues) for a maximum of 12 months (or longer if clearly needed and agreed with Commissioners). The Provider will recruit, select, prepare and train sufficient people to provide the service on a volunteer basis. The Provider will demonstrate a good understanding of local needs and of the culture and environment in St Helens. The people delivering the service will be accessible, approachable and flexible in their approach to meeting the needs of engaged families. The Provider will liaise with each family's lead worker/professional/referrer to clarify and regularly review the work plan for the volunteer and individual families and provide regular updates. The Provider will aim to increase the confidence, health and wellbeing, and independence of referred families by: Offering support, friendship and practical assistance, including behaviour support and parenting strategies Visiting families in their own homes where the dignity and identity of each individual can be respected and protected Reassuring parents that difficulties in bringing up children are not unusual and emphasising the pleasures of family life Fostering a relationship with the family in which time can be shared and understanding can be developed. The approach should be flexible to take account of different needs Encouraging families to widen their network of relationships and to use effectively the support and services available within the local community St Helens are committed to a Think Family Approach to service delivery. This means a whole family way of working and as such will require an element of the overall service to deliver a volunteering/mentori..(view full details to see more)