Network Personnel – Member in Focus #32

February 25, 2021

Interview with Natalie Bell from Network Personnel

Tell us a bit about yourself and/or your organisation.

On the Community Family Support Programme we support individuals aged 16-65 with a wide range of support. Being an employability and training organisation, we have experienced career mentors to help with employability skills and a progression officer to help with further/higher education. We also have skilled family mentors who work to support any additional health and social support.

This is tailored to individual needs but some of the areas we can provide support with are the following: confidence, housing, debt, specialist support services, mental/physical health and criminal convictions.

We also have a range of accredited courses both employability based and personal development.

How well have you/your organisation adapted to the pandemic?

During the pandemic we adapted by providing our service remotely. This involves, phone calls, emails, WhatsApp as well as video calls and training via Microsoft Teams.

How well have people/organisations in your area collaborated throughout the pandemic?

We have been very fortunate that we have remained busy throughout the pandemic and are still receiving referrals from organisations ranging from Job Centres to support organisations throughout Mid and East Antrim.

What key needs are becoming apparent and/or are likely to arise this year?

A key issue that we have identified this past year has been the accessibility for online training/homeschooling. This has been identified and although there are schemes available this is still an issue for a lot of people who do not have access to laptops/tablets etc.

Another issue that we have identified has been the decline in people’s mental health. To overcome this we have been running social groups on Microsoft Teams to help boost social inclusion as best we can.

OFFER: What support are you currently offering and are you open to members of Community Network NI and/or the wider community making contact?

We are currently running a parent support week. We are opening this up to all our Community Family Support Programme offices in Mid and East Antrim, Mid Ulster and Antrim Newtownabbey.

All support we are providing is listed above. Please submit the form below and select “Network Personnel” to register your interest and a referral will be made for support.