4. HARINGEY SOCIAL SERVICES/RESPITE CARE

4.1 Haringey Housing and Social Services
4.2 HINTS (Home Intervention Service).
4.3 FamilyLink
4.4 Home sitting service for children with autism.
4.5 Black and Minority Ethnic Carers’ Support Service
4.6 Private babysitting

Disabled Children's Team - 8489 3671. (New cases call mornings and Wednesday pm) You can self-refer here if you need help or are not coping, though most referrals come through health workers or the CDC at St Ann's Hospital. The team will meet the family and child, make an assessment, discuss needs, offer advice and in some cases offer residential provision or home-based respite care. The Team also run HINTS (see below), and have a young carers' group at Red Gables for siblings. Team Manager: Mark Campbell. (8489 3668) Practice Manager: Sylvia Henry.
(Once help has been agreed to, direct payments to parents are now possible. A parent's guide to direct payments is now available from the Department of Health. Tel: 08701 555455 quote 31213)

4.2 HINTS (Home Intervention Service)  (Back to Top)

A service for under 5s, who have either a part-time or no nursery place. Those with full-time places are not eligible. A worker will come to your home and offer suggestions about play, behaviour management, etc. Tel: 8489 3671.

4.3 FamilyLink

A very over-stretched respite service with huge waiting list, FamilyLink also have a peripatetic playworker. If you can suggest someone who might with training be a suitable person to help with your child (eg a reliable neighbour), this may possibly speed things up. Tel: 8489 1466/8489 1448.

4.4 Home sitting service for children with autism.  (Back to Top)

Breathing Space - (a respite service for children with disabilities including autism) Respite service for parents with children with autism and other disabilities aged up to 18 years. Children can be referred by the Disabled Children's Team, HINTS or social workers. Presently serving a number of families on a regular basis offering for example 2 hours a week either in the home, or taking the child out. The hours can be accumulated so that you could take, for example, 8 hours a month. For those children who are difficult to take out to play, their hours may be spent at a Saturday playscheme at St Thomas More RC School. Run by Ann Hewitt (tel 889 5941) and Jasmine Wong (tel 8489 4569). .

4.5 Black and Minority Ethnic Carers' Support Service

Based at Selby Centre, Selby Road, London N17 8JL. Tel: 020 8808 5510. Providing respite care to members of the black and ethnic minority communities.

4.6 Private babysitting  (Back to Top)

(for private respite care, try Special People, an agency supplying babysitters, teachers, childminders, etc for children with Special Needs, and run by a mother with an autistic child. Special People is based at Palace for All, Scholefield Road, N19. Tel: 7561 1689.)