Who do we help?
Our aim is to help families who would find a carrier of considerable therapeutic benefit for a range of reasons, and who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford or access a sling. We have a few criteria to ensure we are helping the right people who really need our service and cannot afford one of their own, as our funds are limited.
We offer guidance and signposting to local sling libraries, we can make recommendations for carriers for complex situations, offer consults to help identify solutions, and also in some cases donate slings and carriers to those who would not be able to afford a second hand carrier.
One of our team (we are all trained in sling safety) will suggest a carrier based on current needs and if a donation is to be made, arrange fitting and donation.
Our service is based in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, but we also support people from further afield via video consultation and working with local libraries.
- In some situations we may be able to offer in-person help at our base in the city centre (The Snug, 71 Leadmill Road, S1 4SE),
- Further afield, we offer Zoom appointments, and for disabilities, clients may need to be able to access their local sling library for help with fitting.
- Sling Librarian/Consultant referrals from around the UK will need to offer fitting and personal support to clients they refer; the sling will be posted to the referrer, not the family.
You may be eligible for our help…
- if you (or your partner) are suffering from ante- or post-natal depression or anxiety, PTSD or other condition affecting your ability to bond with your child
- or have a child with a serious or life-limiting illness or significant disability,
- or a child who is spending a lot of time in hospital,
- or a child with special needs,
- if you care for children in the emergency care system (such as fostering)
- or are in receipt of intensive social care support from certain agencies (such as the perinatal mental health service, City Hearts, The Snowdrop Project, Ashiana, Welcome Box, domestic abuse charities etc)
AND
- are experiencing a financial or access barrier. A good example would be those eligible for Healthy Start Vouchers due to low income, or a child with a life limiting illness requiring prolonged hospital stays and expensive equipment, or where a parent has had to give up work to care for a child with disability and is on employment support allowance.
We aim to be flexible and break down barriers. We are aware that income varies; if some clients are able to contribute towards our costs this will enable us to support more families in great need.
For example, we would help a mother who has fled a difficult family situation and needs to be able to care for her baby and toddler until she is back on her feet again. It could be someone with refugee status who hasn’t yet got documentation, or someone who is experiencing postnatal depression or anxiety, has no independent income but doesn’t qualify for additional benefits.
For local children with life limiting illnesses and those with prolonged inpatient stays we may be able to visit them in hospital due to the intense complexity of the situation, if permission is granted from the hospital. This is to ensure parents get the benefit of a sling in the last part of their child’s life, or while they are unable to leave hospital, as we recognise that trying to source and buy a carrier in such an intensely distressing time is very hard and families can then miss out on the benefits. This is dependent on agreement from the health teams caring for that child.
Please fill in one of our application forms at the top of the page.
Please contact us if you have any queries.