‘BIGMOUTH! revisited’ results announced
A consultation in to the help on offer for young parents in the county has been deemed a success by Warwickshire’s Respect Yourself Campaign.
‘BIGMOUTH! revisited’ was held in April as a follow up to a similar event in 2008 to gather the views of young mums and dads about their experiences of a range of services including antenatal, emotional health and wellbeing, and housing.
This year’s event at Adventure Zone in Rugby was organised by the Inspire Group from the Bradby Club in association with the Respect Yourself Campaign to see what had changed since 2008 and identify any o5ther issues young parents may have faced.
74 young parents, babies and toddlers attended the day which offered childcare facilities, pampering, advice and guidance, a diary room and comments wall.
The results of the consultation have now been analysed and showed mixed experiences of services used by young parents with a number of recommendations made.
For example, when it comes to housing the consultation suggests more consistency in the way that young parents are housed; that housing available to those under 18 is reconsidered; and that organisations re-evaluate the type of housing offered.
In terms of emotional wellbeing and support, young parents didn’t seem to know about the support services available to them. This needs to be explored further.
Finally, regarding antenatal services, the recommendation is that the Respect Yourself Campaign use the information received at the consultation to guide the design of a leaflet aimed at young parents.
The feedback from the consultation has now been shared with organisations working with young people across the county.
Helen Fielden, Respect Yourself Campaign Co-ordinator, said: “The young parents really enjoyed ‘BIGMOUTH! Revisited’ because they had a chance to share their experiences with others in a similar position, while learning about the services on offer county-wide.
“They particularly liked how it was organised by young parents and welcomed events like this in the future, especially the consultation helped shaped future services.
“The Inspire Group did a great job of organising this event and helping to improve services for teenage parents across the county. The Respect Yourself Campaign team are really grateful for their hard work and for the support of staff at Adventure Zone and the various professionals working with young parents.”
To find out more about Warwickshire’s Respect Yourself Campaign or for more information regarding relationships and sexual health, visit http://www.respectyourself.info.