Cologne mentorship project - help for children of mentally ill parents
Büro für Bürgerengagement der AWO Kreisverband Köln
Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Medium German skills
Regularly
Discussed individually
- Families
- Kids & Teenagers
- Mentoring, Sponsoring & Career Coaching
- Organisation & Administration
About the volunteering opportunity
The mentors support children of mentally ill parents in their everyday lives. This takes place on an hourly basis during the week or at weekends ("stand-by phase"). The mentors take the children into their household if the affected parent has to be treated as an inpatient and no other care is possible for the child ("acute phase"). In this way, the sponsors support the parents in their parenting duties and help to stabilize the situation at home.
The sponsorship is a voluntary offer to the parents and is not necessarily linked to other installed help from the youth welfare office. A written agreement between the provider, parents and sponsors regulates your assignment. You will receive preliminary training and accompanying advice. The target group is children of mentally ill parents between the ages of 0 and 14 who do not yet require intensive help themselves.
The parent with the illness receives help themselves, either as part of socio-pedagogical family support, assisted living or other therapeutic support services.
The parent with the illness receives help themselves, either as part of socio-pedagogical family support, assisted living or other therapeutic support services.
The aim is to support children in a particularly stressful family situation caused by the chronic illness of a parent. Families with a mentally ill member are often isolated and lack a support network. Reliable relationships outside the family home should be established. Traumatizing experiences during an upcoming hospital stay of the ill person and the possibly associated placement of the children in foster families and residential facilities should be avoided.
Your Tasks
At the beginning, an "initiation" takes place together with the specialist advisor. During the initiation phase, the "chemistry" between sponsors and families is assessed and a sponsorship contract is concluded. If such a contract is concluded, the weekly care time for the children should be around 3 hours.
In the"acute phase", the sponsors take the children into their household if the parent concerned has to be treated as an inpatient and no other care is possible for the child.
Services provided by the sponsors in the "standby phase":
- Provision of continuous, reliable relationship partners for the child outside the family
- Supporting the child in play, leisure activities or in school matters such as homework.
- Care of the child during the specified times; possible overnight stays by arrangement
- Supporting parents with school and kindergarten appointments, etc.
- Contact with parents, exchange on educational issues
- Collection of the child or transportation back to the parents
Services provided by the counselors and project management
- Training of the sponsors
- Networking with other support systems that may be available
- Accompanying counseling for the sponsors, monthly individual counseling, additional telephone contacts
- Monitoring of the sponsorship; documentation of the sponsors, 3-monthly meetings of all those involved
- Contact with therapists, youth welfare office, clinics
- Consultation with the youth welfare office in the event of a child being taken into the sponsor's household.
Our general services
- Reimbursement of costs incurred
- Proof of activity
- Accident insurance
What's needed
For this volunteering opportunity, intermediate German skills are required.
- Age (at least) 18 years
- extended certificate of good conduct required *
- First aid course for childminders *
- Care permit from the youth welfare office*. You will be supported in the application process by the mentoring project's specialist advisory service.
* Costs covered by the sponsorship project
Time required
Regularly
Discussed individually
Location
Büro für Bürgerengagement der AWO Kreisverband Köln
The Office for Civic Commitment of the AWO Cologne is a consulting service. People who are willing to volunteer will receive advice and will be placed in organisations that work with volunteers. Further priority will be given to LESEMENTOR Cologne, young volunteers, further education and voluntary refugee work.
Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Medium German skills
Regularly
Discussed individually
Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Medium German skills
Regularly
Discussed individually