While I’ve been busy posting links to leaflets for families experiencing child to parent violence, and asking where the posters are, Voice Northants (a free confidential support service for anyone affected by crime in Northamptonshire) has quietly rolled out an App to help people affected by abuse to cope and find support: the Voice Child on Parent Abuse Support Hub. Welcome to the 21st century!
On the website, the CEO of Voice, Fiona Campbell says:
“Since lockdown began we’ve seen a sharp rise in domestic abuse cases within the county and we have been looking for new ways to support people beyond traditional methods.
“The Child-on-Parent Abuse app has been created to offer another branch of support to families and make people aware of new and innovative techniques being used where traditional approaches have failed.
“I’d like to reassure anyone who is in need of support that we’re here for them, whenever they’re ready. Our phonelines are open and we offer both telephone and online support to anyone who needs us.”
The App offers reassurance to parents and carers, signs to look for which might help identify an experience as abusive, positive steps to take to keep safe, and an offer of help; is free to download – and a great way to keep the information always at hand.
With so many changes to the way we work in the last 9 months, this is certainly timely, but also a reminder that we all need to keep up with the times in the way help is offered and made accessible. With less reliance on paper these days generally, this is a welcome development. It will be interesting to see how the App is developed further, and whether this becomes a more widely adopted method of communication. Thanks Voice Northants!
