Are you facing issues in your family, looking for respite or are you a young parent looking for some advice and support? We’re here to help!

Young Carers

Young Carers in Southampton is a project for children and young people aged 8-18 years old whose lives are affected by caring for an unwell or disabled family member.

A young carer is a child or young person who cares for a person who may have a physical or learning disability, mental ill health, chronic illness or have difficulties with drug/alcohol use.

Through the Young Carers in Southampton project we offer information, advice and support around being a young carer, in addition to fortnightly group sessions and holiday activities that will give you the opportunity to meet and make friends with other young carers who are in a situation similar to yourself. There are plenty of activities to take part in, and you’ll be supported to get involved in the group in a way that feels safe and comfortable for you.

Bright Beginnings

Bright Beginnings helps vulnerable young parents aged 17-25 years old to improve all aspects of their health and the health of their baby. This support is delivered by volunteer mentors who are matched with the young parents and become a trusted, reliable, knowledgeable adult in their lives.

Volunteer mentors meet with you regularly and can support you with anything you’re struggling with, particularly concerning your health, your child’s health or questions you may have about being a parent.

Our Bright Beginnings Mentors support you to navigate your way through processes, meetings and paperwork including those relating to your child’s health (e.g. immunisations), childcare and learning. We can advise you on the physical care of your child, help you to meet your child’s emotional health and encourage a stable, stimulating environment. Your Bright Beginnings Mentor may also encourage you to access other services to help you with your own health needs.

Support For Families

It really helps us to have parents and carers on board, encouraging children and young people to access our services. Together we can make sure that children and young people get the help they need.

If you know a child or young person who might benefit from accessing our services, please encourage them to get in touch with us, or bring them into our Advice Centre for them to talked to one of our trained youth workers.

All of our services are confidential, so we won’t tell you about their problems unless they want us to. It often helps to talk to someone in confidence and children and young people tell us this is something they find helpful. You can find out about our confidentiality policy and how we handle data here.

Some organisations who provide specialist support and advice for parents include:

• Family Lives, who provide free, professional, non-judgemental support and advice in a way that all members of the family can access. They provide a 24 hour helpline, a really useful website, message boards, email service, live chat and parenting/relationship support groups and you can contact them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Parent Info, who provide free, high quality information to parents and carers about their children’s well-being and resilience. They cover difficult topics about sex, relationships and the internet or body image and peer pressure to broader parenting topics like ‘how much sleep do teenagers need?’
• Parent Support Link, who provide free advice for parents, partners, friends, brothers and sisters, or anybody who is being affected by someone else’s drug use. They offer a 24 hour support and information helpline, one-to-one support sessions and support groups.
• Re:Minds a parent-led support group for families who have children/young people with autism or mental health problems in
• Hampshire County Council’s Supporting Families web directory can also provide you with information about support available within the area.