Funded by Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), the Parent and Carer Support Team (PACS), has successfully supported more than 100 parents and carers across Greater Manchester through a new initiative.

The programme supports parents and carers who have concerns about their child. They may have noticed a change in their child’s behaviour, and/or, suspect that their child is involved in violence, criminality or potentially being exploited. Launched in October 2023 and delivered by Oasis UK, a charity which also successfully delivers the Greater Manchester Navigator programme to support young people affected by violence, PACS takes a non-judgemental approach to building effective relationships with families quickly. PACS workers (including five full-time parent and carer support workers, an administrator and triage worker) offer a range of resources to help families deal with challenging behaviours. Resources included one-on-one support for parents and carers, bespoke action plans, peer-to-peer support, third-party counselling options, and a therapeutic online 10-week course known as ‘Encounter’.

‘Encounter’ focuses on rebuilding familial relationships and has proved popular with over 50% of those engaged with the programme opting to attend the online course. The programme has been hailed by participants as transformative, providing a support network for parents and carers who feel particularly isolated.

One parent who attended ‘Encounter’ said: “Thanks to the course, I feel I would have somebody to turn to if I have a problem again.”

The PACS team has worked hard to overcome potential barriers to engagement; offering daytime and evening support sessions to suit parents’ and carers’ home and work commitments. This has extended the scope of the project’s outreach. The flexible nature of the programme has enabled the PACS team to build on existing community outreach groups’ work and attend 121 professional meetings with parents and carers and conduct 113 one-to-one sessions.

Feedback from the participants has been positive, both within and outside of the scheme. One headteacher reported that all previous meetings with a parent resulted in escalation and he described the PACS involvement as ‘working wonders’ for the situation.

The VRU is committed to delivery of the commitments set out in the Greater than Violence Strategy and continues to work with groups throughout the city-region to maximise impact, making sure people in Greater Manchester are safer and have more positive opportunities away from violence.

For more information about the PACS programme, please contact Nicola Hill Nicola.Hill@oasisuk.org

To make a referral, visit Parent and Carer Support | Oasis Greater Manchester (oasis-gm.org).

Article posted on: 06/02/2024 03:02pm