Parent Champion

The Greater Manchester Keyworker Team works across the whole of Greater Manchester, supporting young people with autism and/or a learning disability who are, or have been, at risk of admission to an inpatient mental health setting.

Can you be the positive, reliable presence a parent or carer can count on? The parents and carers in our service are incredible advocates for their children and young people. As a Parent/Carer Champion, you will play an important part in the wider support package. Your time, your voice, and your support could change someone’s day and their whole outlook, building confidence, empowerment and resilience, helping to access information, and navigate systems independently.

This role is about walking alongside a parent or carer at a time when they may need additional support for themselves.

What you might do:

Research local support groups together
Help to connect with like-minded parent/carers
Support engagement with hobbies or personal interests
Meet for a drink and a catch up
Provide information, advice and support to individual parent/carers to enable them to increase their confidence and resilience
Time Commitment:

4–6 hours per month
Additional time for travel and recording visits
Supervision every two months
Access to a wide range of training opportunities
Drivers are preferred but not essential
All of our families are members of the Autism community. This is a fantastic opportunity to deepen your understanding of neurodiversity through training and direct experience. Without doubt you will develop a greater understanding of the positives and strengths of neurodiversity and the affirming practice and behaviours that support.

We work alongside a wonderfully diverse group of families and strive to reflect this diversity in our volunteers. As a service we are working towards the Cultural Cohesion Quality Mark and value applications from under-represented communities. We are particularly seeking to increase the number of male volunteers we have. Men, your support matters, you can be a positive role model and a strong source of connection, increasing sources of support socially and in the community, making a real difference to someone’s wellbeing.