Aunties & Uncles :::
The Aunties and Uncles program aims at providing children with friendship, role modeling and time out from stressful situations. Aunties & Uncles is a division of CareSouth, a registered charity and non-profit organisation.
The concept
The Aunties & Uncles program links community volunteers with children up to 12 years of age from families who could benefit from support.
Generally the child or young person is given an opportunity to experience life with another family by spending one weekend a month with them. The program is based on the belief that giving time, friendship, care and guidance can help build a child’s self esteem and confidence.
The Aunties & Uncles extended family and non judgmental friendship network has been operating in the Shoalhaven since 1993.
Trained coordinators assess and screen adult volunteers and evaluate the needs of socially and emotionally disadvantaged families, and link them together for ongoing support, providing children with friendship, role modeling and time out from stressful situations.
Aunties & Uncles is a division of CareSouth, a registered charity and non-profit organisation.
The Rationale
Research has shown that a preventative program like Aunties & Uncles can alleviate the stress that many families face and that linking children with
appropriate role models can contribute to children developing into well-adjusted adults.The Aunties & Uncles program was pioneered in Sydney in
1973 by Rose White. Rose believed that by linking needy and stable families together, long-term relationships would develop that would provide the
children with positive parental role models and ongoing support.
Aunties & Uncles is not a quick fix remedy, it is a preventative program that gradually role models skills and communicates love and acceptance to
help a child develop into a functional adult.
Our Vision
· To build a better life for children.
· To provide a family support service to families whose children are socially and emotionally at risk.
· To create an extended family and non-judgmental friendship network to support stressed families.
· To prevent the break-up of families, and the need for children to enter out-of-home care, by providing family support and assistance in times of stress or crisis.
· To provide children with regular respite on weekends and in times of family stress.
· To provide children with the opportunity to experience the stability and benefits of ongoing extended family relationships.
· To restore parents self-confidence by encouraging them to accept the responsibility for their lives.
· To encourage volunteer aunts and uncles to co-create the program and to make the relationship as much like a real family situation as possible.
· To encourage aunts, uncles, teachers, social workers, welfare officers etc.to communicate honestly whenever necessary to assist the child.
· To encourage members of the community to support each other.
To Volunteer
If you reside in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven or Eurobodalla regions and are interested in becoming an Aunt or Uncle and would like further
information please contact CareSouth on 1300 554 260
To Make a Referral
Referrals can be made either by parents who think that their family may benefit from the program or by agencies working with the family. Please feel free to contact the Aunties & Uncles Coordinator and discuss any questions you may have prior to making a formal referral.
Contact Details
Aunties & Uncles, CareSouth
11 Haigh Avenue, Nowra
PO Box 1076, Nowra NSW 2541
Telephone: 1300 554 260
Facsimile: 02 4423 6834
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