“It was life-changing” How Circle of Security Empowers Whānau

By Anglican Family Care | Posted: Monday May 31, 2021

Parents are connected to our services for a range of reasons, some contact us directly (self-refer), and others are referred by another service, when it is recognised that professional parenting support would be beneficial for a family. We recently spoke to Jamey who shared her parenting journey with us.

Raising a child with ADHD and anxiety can be challenging for any parent, and this was the situation that Jamey who was parenting on her own, found herself in. As her own negative childhood experiences were beginning to impact how she was parenting her son, Jamey actively sought help.

“As a child that had gone through the former Child Youth and Family Service, I was exposed to trauma on varying levels, including domestic, substance, and physical abuse. The family courts were involved throughout my childhood. I was neglected and it was important for me to break that cycle,” Jamey explains.

Jamey was referred to the Home-based Family Service in Dunedin. It’s a free confidential service for families facing challenges who need support or who want to develop and strengthen their parenting skills and confidence so that their children can reach their full potential. Social Worker Hannah worked alongside Jamey for over 3.5 years. Over this time Hannah provided support that helped Jamey with parenting strategies and advocated for both mother and child. “It really was life-changing when another agency referred me to Anglican Family Care. My confidence in myself as a parent and having someone believe in me [Hannah], has made a huge difference to where I was then and where I am today,” reflected Jamey.

“The Circle of Security programme was the perfect way to end my relationship with Anglican Family Care and my (professional) relationship with Hannah. “This programme was the icing on the cake, it pulled everything (I had learned over the years) together for me. Hannah has let me go out on the circle and explore (parenting) by myself. I, 100% recommend Anglican Family Care to any parent who needs that extra support”.

Support is delivered in a structured way, as our Social Workers support parents one-on-one, at their place, at their pace. In addition to helping support families to achieve their goals, we can also offer the Triple P (Positive Parenting Programme). Ultimately, parents/caregivers choose what area they want to focus on, and our social workers work with families to develop a plan and support them to achieve their goals.

Here is what other families have told us about their experiences with our services.