Learn about kinship peer support groups, how they can support you as a kinship carer and how you can plan to start one up.
Section 1C: Planning your kinship support group
Helping you to start planning your group – from thinking about the time commitment to who your group is for. Some key questions to get started.
What you need to think about before you start your group
If you’re thinking of starting a kinship support group, it sounds like you know there’s a need. And others out there will be in the same position. Sharing your time to help bring other kinship carers together is a commitment worth making.
You’ll build your support group in your local area or virtually as a community of other kinship carers. It should be a group that makes sense to you and the other kinship carers who join.
We’ll be honest – sometimes it might feel hard. People are complex. As a kinship carer, your life might feel even more challenging at times. That’s ok. You need to be kind to yourself.
Starting your journey: questions to ask yourself
So you’ve decided you can make a difference to other kinship carers’ lives and your own by setting up a kinship group.
What next? How do you go about thinking about a group, to making your new community a reality?
A good place to start is to ask yourself some practical questions about the potential group you are looking to set up. Grab a pen and paper and consider the following questions:
- Is there already a kinship group in your area? Start by using our postcode search tool
- Is there a demand for a kinship group where you live? Have you met other kinship carers locally who would benefit from support?
- Do you have the time to commit to starting, running, and making a kinship group a success?
- What kind of group would you like to run? In-person, online or hybrid (a mix?) Read more about types of kinship groups
- Is your group for all kinship carers, or a specialist group, for example:
- kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order
- friends and family foster carers
- black kinship carers
- kinship carers bringing up their siblings
- single parent carers
- or perhaps, men or women carers only
Some of your answers you might not be able to answer straight away. That’s OK.
But if you have a feeling that a group is needed and you have the time to get stuck in, then we are here to help you make that happen.