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5s to 13s Project
This project has been developed by Friends of the Family to offer long term friendly support to vulnerable families with children between the ages of 5 and 13 years. This project was developed as the need for a befriending service for families with school age children had been identified. Friends of the Family wanted to extend the service that it already provided for families with pre-school children in the local area.
The aim of this project is to help families with children between the ages of 5 and 13 by providing non-judgemental support in the family’s own home. This helps the families to help themselves by giving them friendly support for as long as they need it and so make a difference to the young children's lives.
We meet families in their own homes to see if we are the right organisation for them and a trained volunteer is carefully matched to the family’s unique needs. The volunteer then visits them on a regular basis in their own home assisting them with their day to day tasks. They offer a confidential listening ear and a helping hand to encourage families to discover their own solutions to problems that they are facing.
All volunteers are provided with a comprehensive training programme before undertaking this challenging role and then carefully matched to an individual family's needs. Our trained “5s to 13s” volunteers are currently supporting families within Winchester District but we have a number of families who are waiting for support.
If you are a friendly, caring person who can listen and empathise with others and think that you might be able to make a regular commitment of two hours a week, then please contact us at Friends of the Family on 01962 864466.
In return Friends of the Family can offer you ongoing training and support, reimbursement of travel expenses and the chance to make a real difference to a family’s life.
Our next training programme is planned for Spring 2010.
These are some comments from the 5s to 13s Family members:
“We love having our volunteer visit us each week, my son enjoys her company very much. What I like most is that she laughs with us!”
“Our Friends of the Family volunteer is really approachable, she always asks how she can best help us and the children enjoy the 1:1 time that they have with her.”