Family link fostering - Short breaks for disabled children

Family link carers offer short breaks to disabled children in their own home.
Link carers are ordinary people who can be from a variety of cultures and backgrounds, with or without a partner, young or old, with or without children, from all walks of life, who live in all kinds of housing, who have some experience with children, whether this is their own, friend's children, youth clubs or nurseries.

We run preparation courses for people interested in becoming family link carers to learn about the scheme and answer questions.

The needs of the children are carefully matched to the skills, interests and background of the shared carer so that the best possible relationship can develop. This is why we need a range of carers of all ages and from different communities.

An example of family link at work

Janet, a single parent with one child of her own who works in telecommunications training, read about caring in a newspaper article and looked for a Southwark scheme on the website. She now looks after 12 year old Jasmine for the weekend once a month. Janet said: 

"Family link enabled me to contribute to the community in a way that I can see making a real difference to someone's life - in this case Jasmine and also her immediate family. Children with disabilities can miss out on many activities that other children take for granted. Jasmine's visits to us one weekend a month are like extended sleepovers and she enjoys going to the local park, visits to a local museum, or just baking shortbread. It's great to see Jasmine developing new skills. Also my son and I enjoy outings which sometimes otherwise we might not have made the effort to do" 

Information for carers

How do I become a family link carer?

If you think that you could become a link carer, contact us and we will send you further information. A worker will arrange to meet with you in your home to discuss the assessment and training process.

Carers need to:

• Live in or close to Southwark
• Have some room for a child to stay overnight - this does not need to be a spare bedroom
• Be able to care for a child for a minimum of 30 days a year - approximately one weekend a month
• Be able to care for a child with a disability
• Be able to attend training and support groups
• Have lots of energy, enthusiasm and understanding

If you think that you have the time, space, energy and commitment to support a child with a disability, please contact us today.