Unique Friends - awarded £1476 from our Lazenby Fund

Unique Friends – awarded £1476 from our Lazenby Fund, within Help for Health, providing support and activities for children and young adults aged 0-25 years with special educational needs/disabilities and their families in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire. Unique Friends are a not for profit organisation based in Goole that offers support to families in a fully inclusive ,welcoming environment where they can relax with others who face the same challenges and by signposting them to other outside agencies/support networks if need be. Offering parents/carers the opportunity to meet up in an informal relaxed, friendly drop in sessions without the family members they care for. They provide an opportunity for them to get to know others who face the same challenges as themselves and also reduce the social isolation that being a carer brings. Unique Friends also plan to invite outside agencies/groups in who offer support/activities/hobbies which focus on the health and well being of individuals. Examples include the local health trainers, local gardening club, local walking club and also offer the parent/carers a chance to have a pamper session delivered by a local well established beauty spa. Tea and coffee are offered at the these session as well as healthy snacks/drinks and information that parents will find useful. The emphasis for these sessions is "Looking After Yourself".

The sessions aim to enable parent/carers to have the opportunity to engage with others, make new friends, reduce social isolation within their caring role and improve their own mental health and well being by accessing the actvities planned. Unioque Friends liase with the local health professionals in the area such as the local NHS trust and GP surgeries to make them aware of the sessions so they can let patients who they may be working with know.