The Hartlepool children suffering anxiety during lockdown - and how a caring team is helping them

A special programme of support will tackle anxiety among dozens of Hartlepool children in lockdown – and it is reaching out to their parents too.
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Officials at the town-based 1 Hart, 1 Mind, 1 Future group have spotted the ‘huge impact’ that restrictions are having on parent carers and children who have special educational needs.

Tracie Bestford is the Parent Carer Link Worker for 1 Hart, 1 Mind, 1 Future.

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She said children with Autism/ASD/SPD ‘rely on routine and with schools being closed, or children unable to access school due to being on the vulnerable list, this has had a really negative impact on their daily lives.

Tracie Bestford, the Parent Carer Link Worker with 1 Hart, 1 Mind, 1 Future.Tracie Bestford, the Parent Carer Link Worker with 1 Hart, 1 Mind, 1 Future.
Tracie Bestford, the Parent Carer Link Worker with 1 Hart, 1 Mind, 1 Future.

"This also puts added pressure on parents who are trying to juggle home life, work, caring for their children with additional needs and home schooling.”

Parent carer training sessions are being launched covering topics including anxiety and mental health in children.

There will also be a well being pack for parents/carers ‘so that they remember that they also need to look after themselves as well as their loved ones’, said Tracie.

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Mindful sessions for adult carers, pamper hampers, and weekly discussion groups (on a Friday from 1-2pm) are also part of the programme.

Parent carer Leanne Baister.Parent carer Leanne Baister.
Parent carer Leanne Baister.

Tracie added: “All our sessions are free and joining the forum is also free. We just want to make sure families have access to all the services they need during these difficult times.”

Leanne Baister is a parent carer, charity volunteer, a Community Learning Disability Nurse and a mum-of-two. She said: “It has been a stressful and difficult time during the pandemic. I am a busy working mum with two little boys, one of whom has Down Syndrome.

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"Meeting his additional needs and being his carer can be a balancing act and increases stresses and pressures daily on us as a family.

"Often I am there to look after everybody else’s needs which I love doing but I often forget to look after myself as I get so busy and always feel I have no time.”

She said the wellbeing pack was ‘a little bit of a pamper and a reminder it’s also Important to look after myself and there are others out there wanting to look after me too’.

Fellow parent carer Kayleigh Carrick hailed 1 Hart, 1 Mind, 1 Future as a ‘fantastic support service for residents of Hartlepool who care for disabled children’.

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She praised Tracie Bestford for ‘trying her absolute utmost’ to help others.

1 Hart 1 Mind 1 Future has teamed up with CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), RepeaT for Kids which was created to help children who are experiencing emotional distress, and Hartlepool-based Wellness For Women which supports women with whatever struggles they are facing.

1 Hart 1 Mind 1 Future is holding sessions online during the pandemic.

Anyone wanting to register with the group should visit here or email [email protected]

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