Parent Support Programme

Published 06 May 2009, Posted in National

Press Release: Parent to Parent’s ‘Parent Support Programme’

In this age of Satellite Navigation and the World Wide Web you would think none of us would ever feel lost or ill informed.  However finding out our children or family members have disabilities, health impairments or special needs has been likened to finding yourself on an unexpected journey, one for which there are still painfully few maps or guidebooks. 

Parent to Parent New Zealand has over 25 years experience in helping parents, caregivers and whanau on these journeys, through support and the provision of information.

Parent to Parent’s strength is that it uses the best guides, people who have followed a similar journey, who know what it is like to go down that road, all the way, 24/7. 

The position of Support Parent is a unique volunteering opportunity.  There are currently over 500 trained Support Parents however we provide information on over 3500 conditions and have had requests for support from parents on all of them at some time.  This means we need more Support Parents and whatever your experience, you will have something to offer another person. 

Maybe you will be asked to support one person a week, perhaps one a year, you can choose when and how many support calls you make.  You will truly be the guiding light for that person as just knowing there is someone else out there can make things seem a little easier.

The Support Parent Course is highly respected in the NGO sector, it not only empowers individuals in their own situation it also provides the skills and information to enable them to support others in similar situations. 

There is now a new model Support Parent Course on offer.  The new Satellite Navigation Programme is made up of three courses:

• Support Course – One day course looking at the issues of grief, stress, support and family resilience.
• Navigating the system – Short course looking at the range of resources available within the disability sector.
• Practical Course – Two day course looking at communication skills and revisiting stress, grief and support in terms of others journeys.

These are stand alone courses which, if all completed, can lead to accreditation as a Support Parent. 

This new programme is free and will be available in your region soon, please register you interest by contacting:

Ruth Taylor – Training Co-ordinator on 0508 236 236 (option 2) or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Please download the Parent_Support_Programme_brochure_09.pdf (210kb)