Family Support Service

Navigating learning disability and social care can be complex. Reading Mencap’s Family Support Service provides free information, advice and practical support for people of all ages with learning disabilities and their families in Reading.

Our experienced team of Family Advisers is made up of qualified professionals with a deep understanding of  learning disabilities, autism and the legal frameworks that govern care services. They have extensive experience working with Reading Borough Council’s Children’s and Adult Services.

How we can help you

The one-to-one support offered by our Family Advisers is tailored to your needs. The support will help you understand your options, rights and entitlements, so you can make the choices that are best for you and your family.

Our team of caring and friendly Advisers are here to support you with a wide range of issues, including:

  • Social Care: Care assessments, care planning and appealing charges for care
  • Health and Wellbeing: Medical appointments, Annual Health Checks, screenings, vaccinations, managing health conditions to help prevent crisis and personal wellbeing
  • Housing and Housing Benefits: Finding appropriate housing, claiming housing benefit and maintaining tenancies
  • Energy: Energy saving and home safety advice, signing up to the Priority Services Register, carbon monoxide alarms and locking cooker valves.
  • Education and Preparing for Adulthood: Accessing SEND schools and colleges, navigating the transition from children’s to adult social care, preparing for adulthood and aspirations in terms of housing, employment and leisure
  • Benefits:  Applying for and ongoing support with disability-related benefits such as Personal Independence Payments.
  • Legal Matters: Social welfare legal advice such as enforcing tenant rights and challenging inadequate care assessments; referrals to solicitors for Deputyship and Power of Attorney.
  • Safety and Safeguarding: We can help with reporting disability-related or other hate crime, and harassment, and support with raising safeguarding concerns
  • Connecting with the community: We can help you explore leisure, social activities and respite opportunities.
  • Employment and Volunteering: We can help to connect you with work, volunteering and training opportunities through local authority and local community resources.

We offer practical, hands-on support:

  • Advocacy: We can attend appointments, appeals, reviews and court hearings
  • Paperwork: We can help you fill out complicated forms
  • A listening ear: Sometimes you just need someone to talk to, and we’re here for that, too.

The Family Support Service has partnered with ACRE’s Alafia Service for ethnic minority families caring for a child or young person with disabilities or additional needs, so we can also connect you with their support to ensure that you access the services that best meet your needs.

If there is something we are unable to help you with, we will refer or signpost you to one of our trusted partners.

What people say about the Family Support Team

Clients have told us that having a Family Adviser to turn to has made a significant difference in their lives, helping them feel more informed, less lonely and more positive and confident.

‘My Family Adviser gets me the results I need and keeps going until I get the right support. She has helped me with everything from writing letters, contacting professionals, agency support and emotional support. I don’t know where I would be without her.’

‘Our Family Adviser has been fabulous. She has supported our son and us through such a difficult time and has not given up on anything. She has liaised with social workers, the SEN team and helped to write the EHCP and spoken to them non-stop about getting a college place. This was finally agreed yesterday after months of trying to get this agreed through panel. We honestly can’t thank her enough and can’t put into words how grateful we are.’

‘The quality of service I have received from my Family Adviser is second to none. I’m not aware of any other organisations who can give this level of support’

“My Family Adviser been a brilliant emotional support to me during really, really difficult times. She made calls to the council about Direct Payments and contributions and really helped me understand things so much better.

Read about the impact of the Family Support Service in our Impact Report.

Get in touch

You can contact the Family Support Team by calling 0118 966 2518 between 9.30am and 3.30pm, Monday to Friday. An answerphone is available at other times, please leave a message. You can also make a referral using our Referral Form.

We are delighted to have been awarded a National Lottery Community Fund award to support our Family Support Service. Thank you also to Englefield Charitable Trust/Greenham Trust, M&G, Queen Victoria Fund Reading, Reading Borough Council and Virgin 02.