Grandparent & Kin Carers
The Adfam Grandparent Carers project looked at existing services in London and developed new ways of supporting grandparents who were bringing up their grandchildren because of parental substance misuse.
The project aimed to improve recognition of grandparents’ specific needs, including multiple caring roles (for their grandchildren, their drug taking child and sometimes their partners, if they are elderly or in poor health); isolation; stigma; and feelings of mourning and loss over not only their child’s future, but their own plans for retirement too.
A major product of the project was a toolkit for services to enable them to identify and support this group of carers:
The project also resulted in the creation of a new training course for professionals on the needs of grandparent carers and how best to support them.
Further resources from the Grandparent Carers Project:
- Overview article (pdf) written by the project coordinator
- Workshop slides (pdf)
- Forgotten families report (pdf) on grandparent carers
- Mind the Gap mentoring pack from Mentor UK
Useful links:
- Age UK (formerly Age Concern/Help the Aged)
- Family Rights Group
- Grandparents Association
- Grandparents Plus
- GrannyNet