| What we do - Portsmouth |
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Whilst the Grandparents' Association has so much to offer we are often asked what regional help is available and what events, information and support there is. With this in mind we have set up some regional pages which will give you an insight into whats happening in your region and the groups that are run, local services which are running or under development, information available or help that is needed. If you would like some advice or help please feel free to contact us on 0845 4349585 What we do: The Grandparents’ Association came to Portsmouth in November 2009 and the city is one of 3 local bases (other bases in Leeds and Camden, London). It’s my job to find out what sort of support grandparents in the city need, and to find ways to meet that need – by working with local service providers to improve services for grandparents and to look at setting up new services, such as support groups to help grandparents in the city. My main activities so far have included: publicising our national services and asking grandparents in Portsmouth to contact me and let me know what would help them and meeting with local agencies (e.g. social services, voluntary organisations) to establish links into so that their clients/service users can be told about our services, and referred to me if they would like local information or are interested in getting more specific local support. I am a kind of local ‘champion’ for grandparents, helping professionals and organisations to understand the massive contribution grandparents make to childcare and how difficult it can be when grandparents aren’t able to see their grandchildren. There is a wide range of services available to grandparents in the city but they don’t necessarily meet the needs of grandparents well, and/or may now be advertised in the right way to appeal to the grandparents. There is a lot of enthusiasm to develop better services and so I am organising an event for grandparents and professionals in July this year to get some clear actions for improvement. Current partnerships across voluntary and statutory agencies include: We are working hard to establish partnerships in Portsmouth. Please contact me if you wish to discuss this further. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
