Photo of Maria and son Adebambo
“Angel and friends”, is an idea which was conceived as a result of being a parent to a special needs child, a couple of years ago, you were given a diagnosis of your child’s condition and handed a lot of information to deal with, support was available thanks to kind individuals whom I refer to as “angels without wings”, but recently due to funding cuts and a reduced number of staff within various organisations, a lot of families feel lost and isolated. I hope this platform provides not only information and emotional support but some level of comfort to every family who has been touched – Maria (Founder).
Angel and friends is a local community group setup to assist families with individuals who have special needs and disabilities.
We assist with the following:-
- Providing up to date information on local events and activities for families of children with special needs and disabilities within the borough of Bromley
- Providing emotional support to families facing challenges experienced with raising a child with special needs and disabilities.
- Providing emotional support to families facing challenges experienced with individuals with special needs and disabilities
- Providing a parents forum online and via a drop in session for 3 hours each week.
- Providing information and support on grant applications for families in need of a grant to fund short breaks and respite.
- Signposting families who require specific information and assistance to relevant organisations and the local authority
Our aims and objectives
Aims
- To ensure that information is accessible via various means online, in person (walk in surgery sessions), by telephone (presently through a mobile contact number) and via email.
- It is our aim to bridge the gap between local authorities, organisations and families of individuals with special needs requiring information and emotional support equally creating a sense of belonging to a caring community therefore eliminating isolation.
- To improve and set up links and access to means which assist with the everyday challenges of caring for individuals with special needs and learning disabilities.
Objectives
- To provide a medium, a source of testimonials, experiences and advice based on real life events.
- To assist with providing information relevant to each child in relation to factors that affect everyday living, health, education, welfare, respite, etc., also by signposting and making referrals were applicable
- To assist with raising funds to support local community projects and activities which are needed and beneficial to both individuals with special needs and their families.
- To create an online medium that is made sustainable through participation of families of children and individuals with special needs and learning disabilities.