Important Announcement

As a charity we are proud to have been part of the local community for more than 25 years and during this time we have supported thousands of families in the local area and across Essex.

These are, of course, challenging times for us all and although the situation continues to evolve, the dedicated team here at SNAP will do our very best to offer support, hope and positivity to our families.

It is a worrying time for all of us, but we know that for our families who have a child or young adult with additional needs there are going to be many extra challenges.

We have had to make the difficult decision today (Friday 20th March) to stop family services within the building from this afternoon to make sure we keep families and our staff and volunteers as safe as we can.

We want you to know that we are still here to help all our families at this time.

The team are all still working and our phone and email helplines will continue to provide that essential listening ear for parents and carers for both registered and new families.  I also want to reassure you that this service will continue even if we have to work remotely.

Our parent advisers will be happy to book in a phone appointment with any family who needs more in depth support at this time.

Our team of highly trained counsellors will continue to support the families they are working with by offering phone appointments.

We have always provided comprehensive online support with our Information Network and Directory and we will continue to share ideas and strategies to help families cope during this time.

Along with providing our families with regular updates we have been researching new resources and will be sharing this information with you shortly.

UPDATED RESOURCES HERE: Coronavirus Family Guide – Helping you to navigate challenging times

Information Sheet No. 1 – Explaining the virus and answering children’s questions

Information Sheet No 2 – Important Information for Parents and Carers

Information Sheet No. 3 – Makaton and British Sign Language Resources

Information Sheet No. 4 – The reassuring importance of Timetables and Visual Supports

Information Sheet No. 5 – Coronavirus Community Support

Information Sheet No. 6 – Helpline Support

Information Sheet No. 7 – How to deal with anxiety (for everyone)

As you can imagine, this is also a challenging time for us as charity, and we would welcome your support too. If you can help us to come out of this unique situation ready to help future generations of families, your donations would be appreciated more than ever before.

We will be keeping families updated via social media and email during this difficult time.

Please all take care and stay safe and remember the SNAP team are here at the end of the phone if you need to talk.

Karen – Director, Family Services