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Homebased Social Work Support |
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It is not easy for families when a parent or family member is sent to prison. The separation, finding their way through the Justice system, coping with the children and dealing with the huge changes in circumstances often leaves families feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Families often say that they are serving a prison sentence themselves – on the outside.
PILLARS provides a home based social work support service which is free and voluntary. If you live in Christchurch or South Auckland and can answer “yes” to the following questions then feel free to call us for a chat - 0508 PILLARS (0508 7455277):
- Are you parenting a child or children who have a parent in prison? (Note: There is no requirement for you to be in a relationship with the imprisoned parent)
- Does the parent have at least one year left to serve their sentence?
- Are you residing in Christchurch or South Auckland?
- Are you willing to work alongside a PILLARS Social Worker to bring about positive changes for you and your children?
If this is you, we can arrange for a social worker to meet with you to discuss your needs. They will meet with you regularly in the family home and help you deal with the difficulties you may be experiencing due to the imprisonment. All our friendly, professional social workers specialise in dealing with issues of children of prisoners and their families so you can work alongside them with confidence. They are members of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers and abide by their Code of Ethics. This includes providing a confidential, non-judgmental service to you and ensuring that your privacy is respected.
They use every possible resource available to address your needs including, with your agreement, referring you to other organisations. (If you live in other regions of New Zealand unfortunately you are not eligible for the service but you can use our information and advice service on www.justus.org.nz ).
Support is primarily provided in the family home but it can also occur elsewhere if agreed by you both. Various levels of support are given depending on your family's needs. Everything will all be explained at the first visit where you will receive information about the service. Before the first visit, the social worker will contact you by phone. Your needs may be able to be addressed over the phone or they may suggest you contact another organisation who can better meet your needs, so a visit may not be needed. Otherwise, a time will be made by the social worker to meet with you to discuss matters further.
At the first visit in your family home the social worker will introduce herself and explain what she can offer. You are free to voice any concerns or ask any questions before consenting to be involved. You may decide that you would like to think further about receiving our support; therefore our social worker will suggest that you phone in, or she will phone you within the week. If you decide to go ahead with our support, the social worker will make another time to meet with you the following week.
At the second visit the social worker will ask you to sign a consent to be involved if you have not already done so. She will then take you through an assessment which will help you identify the issues that are currently affecting your family/whanau. After the assessment is completed you will both discuss the goals you will work towards that will meet your family needs at this time. One of these goals will be an opportunity to refer your children to the children’s mentoring programme if they are aged 5-16 years. Both you and the social worker will be responsible for meeting the set goals together.
Once you and your family are receiving the full wraparound support provided by PILLARS (homebased support and mentoring), the social worker will visit you either weekly or fortnightly depending on your needs. Our service is a voluntary one, therefore you can choose to stop working with us but if your child is on our mentoring programme there is a requirement to continue to receive two-monthly check-ins from the social worker for at least a year focussing on the children's relationship with their mentor.
Wherever possible, our aim is to ensure children and young people can remain with their own families and within their own communities. Our social work staff work closely together with other agencies like health, the prison, schools, to achieve this. You will be fully involved every step of the way.
If you would like to receive our one-on-one social work support and fit the criteria please phone our Helpline on 0508PILLARS or send an enquiry
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If you are a professional wanting to make a referral, phone our Helpline on 0508PILLARS (0508 7455277) or complete the enquiry form for professionals
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