By Anglican Family Care | Posted: Monday November 28, 2022
Our team of social workers and whānau workers advocate for clients. Dunedin Home-based social worker Rose explains what this means.
“I recently worked alongside Alan who was parenting his teenager on his own, his son had health issues that were affecting his wellbeing. Having already experienced the benefits of accessing support from Anglican Family Care, Alan self-referred when he found himself struggling. I organised a meeting with other professionals to discuss what their needs were and what would work for them. It was through this process of collaborating with other professionals, where we identified his son would benefit from attending Health School.”
“It’s a privilege to be the voice of the client in these settings”, Rose explains. “You need to establish trust and have a good relationship because it’s within that relationship that solutions can be found, and changes can be made.”
Alan told us “I have been a single dad for a number of years, since taking over the care of my son when he was very young and have benefitted from Anglican Family Care’s Family Start programme and Home-based Family Support service a few times when I’ve faced parenting challenges. An earlier example in my son’s development, was when he had trouble sleeping, which he unfortunately inherited from me. I learnt techniques to help us both adjust and how to cope when he wouldn’t settle. This gave me reassurance that I was doing the right thing.” Alan expressed that being a male and parenting on his own is a unique situation. “The support I’ve had over the years has given me peace of mind.”
Alan’s advice to other parents who are struggling. “Don’t try coping on your own. It takes a shift in mindset and acknowledging and admitting there’s a problem first, but that help doesn’t come until you do. In my experience, admitting there is a problem is the first step to finding a solution and support.”
Names & images have been changed