Are you a parent or carer?

What is Kindred?

Kindred is a voluntary organisation based at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.  It is managed by a committee of parents of children/young people with additional support needs, and professionals.  Most of the staff at Kindred are parents of disabled children. We work with parents, carers and young people in Edinburgh, the Lothians & Fife

What does Kindred do?

There are three main areas of our work:

• Providing information, advocacy and emotional support to families of children and young people with additional support needs and the professionals who work with them.
• Providing information, advocacy and emotional support to young people with additional needs aged 14-24.
• Providing training for people who work with children and families
• Therapeutic support services offered in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children & in the community

What can Kindred do for me?

Information

We can provide information to you through our helpline, newsletter, website, or by meeting you face-to-face in your home, at our offices or at the Sick Kid's Hospital. We can provide you with information on a range of issues, including:

• Your child's condition;
• Benefits/ funding;
• Additional Support for Learning;
• Statutory/ voluntary support services and much more...
  

Emotional support

Many parents/ carers just appreciate the chance to talk about how they are feeling when they call our helpline, or just want to talk through difficult decisions they need to make or difficult situations they find themselves facing. You don't need to have any reason at all to call us, you can call just to chat.

Advocacy

Kindred staff can provide support so that your views are heard this might be in meetings, filling in forms, writing letters or speaking to professionals. 

Some situations may be highly stressful, involving many professionals and difficult decisions, and you may chose to give consent for a Kindred worker to speak on your behalf. This is called independent professional advocacy. The worker must be trained in advocacy and have your informed consent to speak for you.

Where you feel able, you will be supported to speak for yourself. This is called self-advocacy. Wherever possible, we will always aim to support you to feeel more confidest speaking for yourself.

With both kinds of advocacy, Kindred's Information & Advocacy Workers will listen to you, ask you questions about your situation and identify with you what your priorities are, and identify what steps you wish to take.

What if I don’t have a particular question?

Part of our service is to be a ‘listening ear’ for parents, so don’t worry if you aren’t sure how we can help you. We are happy to listen and have a chat. Call us on 0131 536 0583

Membership of Kindred

You might want to become a Kindred member.  Members get our regular newsletter and can attend and vote at our Annual General Meeting. Click here to contact us and become a member