Parkinson’s UK Swindon branch is offering respite sessions in our Swindon Centre, helping to support people of all ages with Parkinson’s, as well as their families and carers. Find out more at www.swindonparkinsons.org.uk

There are many young people who bear the demanding responsibility of looking after a family member with a disability or mental health problem. Often this can place a big strain on them, and they may need external support or simply someone to talk to. The Swindon Young Carers have been using our Swindon centre for many years as a space for their support groups and activities.

CCS Adoption are a specialist, not for profit adoption agency that offer the same adoption service as the local authority. CCS offer bespoke, lifetime support for you and your family! We work closely with CCS and run adoption wellbeing days with them once a month in Bristol!

SWAN UK (Syndromes Without A Name) supports families of children with undiagnosed conditions. They have recently started using our Bristol centre for stay and play sessions and activities on a bi-monthly basis.

A great social networking site for charities to create new projects and link up with supporters! Visit our project here!

We have worked closely with our friends at The James Hopkins Trust for a number of years. They provide care and support for children with complex needs in Gloucestershire.

A wide range of information, advice and products for disabled people and their carers in the UK.

Things to do in Gloucestershire!

Contact a Family is the only UK-wide charity providing advice, information and support to parents of all disabled children - no matter what their health condition.

Their website offers support for families of children with disabilities, with advice on welfare rights, community care issues, education needs and a listening ear, with access to interpreters.

Access Sport are dedicated to helping disadvantaged children play sport. They run lots of programmes across the country, so why not find your local session today?

Counselling Directory is a confidential service that encourages those in distress to seek help. The directory contains information on many different types of distress, as well as articles, news, and events. To ensure the professionalism of our website, all counsellors have provided us with qualifications and insurance cover or proof of membership with a professional body.

The Butterflies Family Centre uses HSJ Swindon to host a ‘Honeybees’ group for children (aged 0 - 5) with additional needs and their parents, each Thursday from 1 to 2 PM. We offer the centre to Butterflies for free, as part of our wish to support children’s centres and our local community.

The Bristol Autism Project provides activities during school holidays for children (aged 5-18) with a diagnosis of autism and their siblings.

We have had a partnership with them for several years now, and they use HSJ Bristol during the holidays for a play-based session, filled with fun and exciting activities for the children. Hop Skip & Jump’s playworkers supervise the children on these activities while the parents and Autism Project staff grab a cup of tea, chat and support each other. The session is free to BAP members and runs every Tuesday and Thursday morning, 10 AM - 12 PM, during the school holidays.

For more information, please see: http://www.autism.org.uk/directory/a-to-z/pg=1/resources/3540.aspx

Give A Book has been supporting our centres with regular donations of lovely, colourful and exciting children’s books. For every £5 Give a Book receives in donations, they deliver a new book to one of their chosen charities.

Our CEO Hayley Stone stated: “The benefits of books for our children with additional needs are many. It brings them a sense of calm, closeness, mental and physical relaxation. It increases communication, sharing and promotes social interactions. Give A Book has been an amazing support to us and seeing our children’s faces on receiving the books was out of this world.”

For more information, please see their website.