Cardiff Family Advice and Support (CFAS) service are here to help children, young people and their families across Cardiff access the help they need. We asked some of the CFAS advisors how you can get support from them. Here’s what they said:
Cardiff Family Gateway
“At times, life can be a bit challenging for everyone. The Family Gateway are here to support you if times get tricky”, says Jo, a Family Gateway Contact Officer. “The Family Gateway Team are here to listen to any issues you may have and understand how you are feeling. We will talk to you about what you would like to happen and how we can help you to do this.”
What happens when you contact Cardiff Family Gateway?
Jo explains “when you contact the Family Gateway, your call will be answered by one of our Contact Officers (like me) who are friendly and non-judgemental and no matter how big or small the issue you have is, making a positive difference to young people’s lives is the most important thing to us”.
How can you contact the Family Gateway?
You can contact the Family Gateway by calling 03000 133 133 or emailing ContactFAS@cardiff.gov.uk.
Family Help Team
Britney is a Family Help Advisor for CFAS and has given us the scoop about what they do. She says “the Family Help Team are here to help your family. What that involves depends on the help your family needs. We can help with things like money, family relationships, mental health, self-harm, how to deal with suicidal thoughts, school attendance, housing and much, much more. We might work directly with you and your family or get other people involved that will be able to help”.
How long can I get help for?
“A Family Help Advisor will work your family for up to 12 weeks and it is not just the adults that we talk to. We want to know what the young people think and make sure that you have the chance to be heard. We focus on listening to young people just as much as the adults in the family because we know how frustrating it is to be ignored! This means we can help your family in the best way”, says Britney.
How do I get support?
It’s up to you! Britney explains “how we provide the support depends on what you want. We can meet you in person, have a video or phone call, or if you’d prefer it can be through text, WhatsApp or email. We are not here to catch you out or get you in trouble and at any time you can choose not to work with us anymore.”
What help can I get?
Britney says that “we are able to give you advice, ideas on what could be done and also talk to other people for you about the problems you have. The Family Help Advisor will make sure you know what is happening while working with your family so that you are in control of decisions being made about you.”
If you think the Family Help Team can help you or your family, then contact the Family Gateway on 03000 133 133 or email ContactFAS@cardiff.gov.uk.
Related Information
This blog is part of the Supporting Young Cardiffians campaign. To see more about the campaign and read real stories from young people who have been helped by CFAS, click here.
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