Support for Children, Parents & Carers
Mental Health Support
On Your Mind signposts children and young people in Wiltshire to sources of support for good mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Childline provides 1:1 counslling sessions for children in addition to message boards, campaigns and tools to support children who may feel worried or unsafe. Calls to Childline are free and confidential 0800 1111
Young Minds is charity that supports children and young people's mental health. The website provides young people with tools and guidance to look after their mental health
Download the Wiltshire Mental Health and Wellbeing Support Services list
Drugs
Ask Frank is a website that helps you find out everything you might want to know about drugs (and some stuff you don’t). You can talk to Frank on 0300 123 6600 or email here
Child Sexual Exploitation
Face up 2 it is a website that explains child sexual exploitation. This could include being forced or tricked into doing something sexual, sometimes receiving something in return like love, affection, money, drugs or alcohol. Call or text 116 000 #SaySomething
Police Support
SWIFT is a consent-based programme run within Wiltshire Police. Its aim is to reduce children coming to police notice and prevent them becoming part of the criminal justice system.
Support for young carers
What being a young carer means?
A young carer is anyone aged 5-16 who cares, unpaid, for a family member or friend.
A young carer looks after or helps to look after someone who has an illness, learning or physical disability, a mental health illness or misuse of drugs or alcohol. It might be your mum or dad, grandparent, brother or sister or a close relative or friend.
A young carer usually takes on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. This means doing things like cooking, cleaning, shopping, giving medication or just talking and helping when the person you care about is feeling sad.
Caring roles can look very different, you might be doing different things than mentioned above, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a young carer.
How can you get help and support?
Looking after someone can sometimes take up a lot of time and it can sometimes be very difficult to cope with everything. Going to school, meeting up with friends and doing the things you enjoy can sometimes be hard to fit in.
If you think you might be a young carer, or you’re not too sure, and feel you need additional help and support, talk to someone you trust like your teacher at school or your doctor. They will be able to refer you to Wiltshire Council’s Young Carer team for a young carers’ assessment which will look at the support that could be offered to you and your family.
What is a young carer assessment?
An assessment is when an adult from the young carers team at Wiltshire council, gets to know you to understand the things you are dealing with and the impact of your caring role to see if you need some help.
Young people and parents can now self-refer for a young carer assessment. To do this, call 0300 456 0108 or email MASH@wiltshire.gov.uk.
To find out if you are a young carer, take the Carer Support Wiltshire quick quiz.
Visit Carer Support Wiltshire for lots of useful information to help you understand what caring is all about and how you can get help and support.