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 ERIC is working with families in parts of the UK to find out what information, support and resources they need to gain a better understanding of bladder and bowel problems and how to overcome or better manage them.
What is the Outreach Project about?
This Outreach Project is a three year Big Lottery Fund initiative to work with families who have a child with bedwetting, daytime wetting, constipation and/or soiling problems. Although the project is aimed at all such families, we are particularly keen to make contact with families who have a child with a learning difficulty or a physical disability; and families that may be experiencing difficult situations such as unemployment, poor housing, illness or poor health etc. We also hope to work with families who come from black and ethnic minority communities. The project is focussing on parents/carers, children and young people.
The project aims to:
- provide accessible information, support and resources
- give families a greater understanding of the conditions, what may cause them, and how professionals may be able to help e.g. through contact with their local continence service
- enable parent/carers to respond appropriately and to develop strategies that will allow them to deal positively with the continence problem
- enable children and young people to take some initial steps to better manage their continence difficulties themselves
- enable families to access the range of services offered by ERIC, including Helpline resources.
Where is the project taking place?
The project is running in Bristol, North Somerset, Bath & North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, the city of Gloucester, the Forest of Dean, Cardiff & the Vales, Gwent, Cwm Taf, Greater Glasgow, North Manchester, Sunderland, Birmingham, Coventry, Milton Keynes, Greenwich, Medway and Telford & Wrekin.
Resources to download
So far, 2 resources have been piloted as part of the project.
Toilet Training and Your Child is going into school packs across the project areas for parents whose children are starting school. This is in response to parents' comments that it would be helpful to have information as early as possible about promoting continence and overcoming or managing any wetting and soiling problems. You can download Toilet Training and Your Child here.
Childhood Wetting and Soiling is a short booklet that aims to respond to parents' need to understand what can cause bladder and bowel problems in children, what can be done about them and who can help. You can download a copy here.
You can also download some information about ERIC in other languages. We have an information sheet about ERIC in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Somali and Urdu, as well as in English.
We would like to hear from young people or parents/carers in any of the pilot areas who are interested in taking part in the project, or knowing more about it. We would also like to hear from health and other professionals working in those areas who come into contact with families who may benefit from knowing about this project.
How can I find out more?
Please contact ERIC’s Project Development Worker, Steve Crump, on 0117 301 2107 or via email. You can find out how the project is going by reading the latest Outreach Project Update. |