New 'Caring for Kin' Helpline for Kinship Carers

Kinship Care NI have launched a new 'Caring for Kin' telephone helpline service to support grandparents, great grandparents and older kinship carers who are bringing up their family and friends' children in the Antrim, Magherafelt, Cookstown and Draperstown areas.

Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the 'Caring for Kin' Project aims to ensure grandparents and older kinship carers have access to the advice, information and support they need, as and when they need it.  Kinship carers can contact the helpline for advice on a range of issues, including advice and information on their legal rights and obligations and help and support accessing the financial support they need for the children in their care.  

The Project will also offer a range of other support services to kinship carers and their children, including family recreation and training.  Several new 'Kin Together' support groups will be established to enable kinship carers to develop new friendships, share experiences and meet other people in the same position as them.

Calls to the helpline are free and Michelle Dixon, a qualified solicitor with substantial experience working in the area of family law will be on hand to provide advice and assistance to kinship carers who are caring for, or considering caring for their family and friends' children. 

Kinship carers can contact the helpline on 0800 022 3129 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am - 5.00pm). 

For more information on our 'Caring for Kin' Project contact:-

'Caring for Kin' is funded by the Big Lottery Fund through the Reaching out Connecting Older People Programme.

Kinship Care NI is a registered charity with HMRC No. XT26555 and a Company Limited by Guarantee, No. NI602969