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Cornwall
Cornwall Face 2 Face
C/o Scope
Lowena House
Glenthorne Court
Truro Business Park
Threemilestone
Truro
TR4 9NY
Tel: 0844 800 9250
Email: cornwallface2face@scope.org.uk
Number of
befrienders: 70
Date of
next training: Contact service for details.
Scheme started:
2004
Funded by:
Cornwall Council
Funded until:
March 2010
Local information:
Local
News
Profile:
Development
of the Cornwall Face 2 Face Service (Previously know as Parent
to Parent)
For parents discovering
that a child has a disability or special need is inevitably
traumatic. For some, the news comes as a shock, for others
it may be vindication of concerns that they have felt for
a long time. Whatever the circumstances most parents say the
experience left them feeling shattered and isolated.
Cornwall Face 2
Face is a free and confidential service, provided by trained
parent befrienders, who themselves have experience of parenting
a child with a disability or special need.
Befrienders provide
emotional support to other parents at the time of diagnosis,
at times of change or difficulty. In addition befrienders
provide general information and signposting.
This service was launched in November
2002 in mid Cornwall, with 15 parent befrienders completing
the 40 hour training program. In October 2004 the service
was extended to the west of Cornwall with a further 14 parents
completing the training.
During 2005/06 the
service was extended further through partnerships with the
local Sure Start programmes and now covers the whole county.
We now have in excess of 50 volunteers in addition to supporting
schemes in Barnstaple and Plymouth.
In addition to the
core Face 2 Face befriending service the schemes provide information
and sign posting to parents and professionals on a range of
disability services and issues.
We have worked in
partnership with Family Services, our main funder, to develop
a range of training opportunities for parents and professionals.
These include parent delivered awareness raising workshops,
promoting inclusion and partnership working, with a focus
on early years' settings. In addition we have facilitated
a number of training events attended jointly by parents and
professionals on topics including Disability Equality, Advocacy,
Play and Communication.
We now have a dedicated
trainer, delivering core training and developing further opportunities.
We are working with
a number of Children's Centre settings to support monthly
stay and play sessions for parents of disabled children.
These sessions, Oasis groups, provide an invaluable informal
support network for parents and carers. Volunteers are
available at each session, meeting and greeting parents and
professionals. The groups are both an excellent referral
and exit route for families.
The service works
very closely with statutory and voluntary bodies both locally
and nationally.
All the volunteers across Cornwall,
Barnstaple and Plymouth are invited twice yearly to Family
Fun days, an opportunity to get together with partners and
children for a great day out. One day is held at a local
tourist attraction and the other at a local college with a
wide range of activities on offer, many provided by local
partners such as Children's Centres,
and some developed
especially for the occasion.
For further information
please don't hesitate to contact us.
If any details
have changed please
let us know
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