Community Connector newsletter – helping families find support

Welcome to our June Community Connector newsletter

For our June edition, we have focused particularly on what we believe are the most pressing concerns for families. This includes financial and relationship support, along with the help available for both children's and adults' emotional well-being.

We also wanted to answer some frequently asked questions and spotlight a few of the wonderful services we've had the chance to meet or hear about recently.

Aside from the suggestions we have made in this month's newsletter, there are also many more services to be found on our Family Information Service and Local Offer websites and Directories so please take a look. We also share news, the details of services and other helpful information all the time on our social media.

We hope this information will be helpful to you.

Page Contents

Financial support

Food and essential items

If you are struggling financially, you may like to contact one of the services in the shortlists below, which includes details of local foodbanks:

Free period products can be collected or donated at most libraries in Surrey, you can find more about the scheme on the Period dignity across Surrey webpage.

Finances

The following services may be able to offer or help you find financial support:

Our Family Finance web page provides further details of the financial support available to families including organisations offering financial support to families.

Clothing, furniture and school uniforms

The services on this shortlist can also assist families in need of clothing and furniture.

You may also like to contact Surrey County Council's Health and Welfare Hub which helps signpost people to information about financial, health and welfare support available.

Mental health

There are a number of pressures on families at present, which can impact on mental well being, These services should be able to offer support and advice if needed.

Support with children and young people's emotional well being

It is understandable that children and young people may have a number of worries at this time of year, perhaps because of exam stress or the prospect of the end of the school year. The following services may be helpful to them if they want to speak to someone about how they are feeling or need more immediate support..

  • Childline is a free, private, and confidential service for children and young people where you can talk about anything. The phone service 0800 1111 operates between 9am and midnight.
  • The Mindworks 24/7 mental health crisis line, is available for children and young people who are worried about themself, a friend, or for parents worried about their child or young person. It can be contacted on 0800 915 4644, is open all day and all night, seven days a week.
  • CYP Haven are safe spaces for young people to drop into to talk about worries and mental health confidentially. There is also a phone service and virtual workshops operating alongside the face-to-face sessions. The opening times and phone number are listed on their website.
  • Kooth is a free, anonymous, confidential, safe, online wellbeing service, offering counselling, information, and forums for children and young people aged 11 to 18.
  • The Mix offers information and advice about any subject to children and young people from 13 to 25. It provides helpline and online support.

If you are concerned about your or another child's emotional wellbeing, you can contact the Young Mind's Parent Helpline on 08088 025544.

Support for parents and carers emotional well being

If you have found that your mental health is poor at the moment, there are a number of services that can offer advice or emotional support, including both national and local helplines and online support services for parents.

Relationships and separation

If you are finding that your relationships have been put under strain, the following shortlist provides details of support and counselling services that may be of help.

If you or your partner are in the difficult situation of separation or divorce or there are disagreements over who see's children and when, these are services providing support after separation who can give valuable information, advice, guidance and support.

Surrey County Council also have collaborated with a number of organisations to provide parents/carers with a range of resources to help manage conflict appropriately.

Getting Ready for School

In April letters were sent out announcing primary school places, the following pages can provide you with information regarding preparing your child for starting school and financial support options for uniforms:

Free online parenting guides

Parenting can be challenging at times and therefore it is important to seek support and guidance when needed.

Did you know that all Surrey residents can access free online parenting guides? The guides cover a wide range of topics and include tips from childcare, education and NHS health experts. .A brand new short course 'Understanding the impact of the pandemic on your child' has recently been added.

You may also like to refer to our Parenting Courses and Advice web page for further options.

Frequently asked questions

Based on enquiries received by the team and our web pages visits, we have put together some answers to some frequently asked questions. We hope you find them helpful:

QuestionAnswer
Is there any help available with paying for school uniforms?You can find the details of services who may be able to help on our Paying for School Unforms web page.
My child is starting primary school in September, what can I do to prepare?Our Get Ready for School online booklet has lots of helpful tips.
Where can I find the details of parenting courses and help?The details of parenting courses, guides and helplines can be found on our parenting courses and advice webpage. Why not also take a look at the range of free online guides for families in Surrey?
What help is available with childcare costs?Our paying for childcare web page, may be helpful. You may also like to refer to the Family Finance section of our site.
Where can I find the details of support services in Surrey?Our Directory, is a fantastic place to look for support.

Spotlight on services

Over the last month we have met with a variety of different services, who support families in different but similarly inspiring ways.

  • The Haslemere Youth Hub is a charity youth community centre for pre-schoolers through to teens and young adults. Every day they have a wide range of activities at the hub for all ages, with classes and outside groups running activities, from toddler groups to mother meets to teen support groups.

We recently attended the Cultivating a Green Heath and Wellbeing Movement in Surrey event where we learnt about the Surrey Heartland Green Social Prescribing Programme. We also found out about the following helpful services:

  • First Step Green Volunteers offers volunteering programme and workshops to support underrepresented groups including young people and those from ethnic minorities. Taster sessions include community gardening projects, heathland management, clearing footpaths and hedge planting
  • A Dose of Nature is a green social prescribing service offering support to individuals experiencing mental health problems by encouraging everyone to connect with nature in order to improve their mental wellbeing.
  • The Green Hub Project is a local community project located in Milford that supports teenagers and their families/carers facing social, emotional and mental health challenges. Support for Teenagers comes through participation in the Teen Garden.
  • The Mary Francis Trust, offer Nature Nurtures groups which includes wellbeing walks, online summer nature group and gardening. All activities are free for Surrey residents aged 16+ in need of mental health and emotional wellbeing support.

Our social media

We share details of new and existing groups and helpful information all the time on our social media accounts. Why not take a look?

Subscribe to the newsletter

If you would like to be added to the distribution list for the newsletter please let us know: surrey.fis@surreycc.gov.uk