Advice and support for families in Aberdeen
Need some parenting advice or support?
Worried about family relationships?
Is mental health a problem?
Struggling with money worries?
Has your child been a victim or witness of a crime?
Our Children First Aberdeen team are here to help.
Fit Like family wellbeing service
Need some parenting advice or support? Worried about family relationships or wellbeing? Is mental health a problem? Struggling with money worries?
Fit Like family wellbeing service will provide whole family support, working with families at the earliest point to reduce the risk of their needs escalating to statutory or specialist services. We will ensure that the support is accessible by offering a variety of ways that families can engage with our support through support line, financial wellbeing, group work support, engagement events, family group decision making, life story work, peer support and direct family support. We will work alongside families in a strength-based way to understand their unique circumstances and build their skills, in turn increasing capacity and resilience.
For more information email us on Fitlikehubs@aberdeencity.gov.uk or speak to your child’s teacher, health visitor or family nurse.
Has your child been a victim or witness of a crime?
If your child has been a victim or witness of crime, it can be a difficult and upsetting time for everyone involved. The Aberdeen Bairns Hoose team is here to help you and your child find their way through this new and sometimes confusing situation.
The team are here to help you understand what may happen next and to support you to help your child and whole family to recover from any experience that may have caused hurt or harm.
In 2023 Children First opened Scotland's first Bairns Hoose in the West of Scotland to reduce the trauma children can experience through the justice system. We are now working with local partners to support the development of Bairns Hoose across Scotland. The Bairns Hoose is warm, welcoming and familiar. It provides a single location alternative to courts, social work offices and police stations, allowing each young person to feel safe and supported, and able to recover and thrive.
For more information email aberdeenbairnshoose@childrenfirst.org.uk
Family Group Decision Making
Where families experience challenging times, family group decision making is a way of helping to keep children together with their wider family network. Family group decision making helps children and families be at the centre of any important decisions that are being made about them.
A family group decision making coordinator will work with everyone in your family network to help them understand how family group decision making works and make sure everyone has the opportunityto contribute. The family group decision making coordinator is an independent worker (who is not already involved in making decisions about your children or family). They will help you prepare for a family group meeting, work through any worries or conflicts so the family can reach a family plan to support your child. The plan will be decided by your family and then agreed with social work and other workers at the family group meeting. A few weeks or months after the family group meeting you will usually have a review family group meeting to check that the family plan is working. Families tell us this is a new and very empowering experience.