Contents:
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Could you be a Link carer?
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Who are the children needing Link?
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How to become a Link carer
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Training & support for Link carers
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Contact us
What is Link?
The Link scheme gives children who have sensory, learning or
physical disabilities a change from their daily family life by
providing them with regular short breaks.
The scheme allows the disabled child to participate in new
experiences and have special friends of their own.
The breaks can range from a couple of hours a week to a weekend
once a month and care can be provided in your own home or the
child's home.
Alternatively, as a Link befriender, you can enjoy a regular
activity together such as watching a football match or going to the
cinema.
Although the Link scheme is a type of fostering, and you
have to go through a similar assessment process to become a Link
carer, your role as a Link carer is about supporting and
working with the whole family.
Being a Link carer for Suffolk County Council
There are many children in Suffolk who, with their families,
benefit from regular support.
Link carers can give families a chance to spend a few hours
concentrating more fully on their other children.
Looking after a family is demanding. When a child has a disability
the whole family needs extra support. Another pair of hands is
often welcome.
Link carers and their own families find the experience of caring
for a disabled child enriching.
For some carers, sharing time in this way provides an 'excuse'
to do the fun things in life - football, going to the cinema,
tenpin bowling visiting the zoo.
Your friendship with a disabled child can make a real difference
to their life and to yours.
The Link Scheme always welcomes new carers to support more
families with disabled children and young people. By becoming a
Link carer for Suffolk County Council you really could be helping a
local disabled child and their family.