Anyone who has been a parent knows that bringing up children is hard work. All families face challenges from time to time and need extra support.

Kildonan's Strengthening Families program provides professional help for vulnerable families. It operates within an approach which is empowering, focused on family strengths and always conscious of the developmental needs of children and young people.

Strengthening Families works with families who have children aged between 0-18 in the Cities of Yarra, Darebin and Whittlesea. Families can request services themselves or ask another organisation, with whom they have contact, to make the request on their behalf.

Our support ranges from information and advice about how to get the right kind of support, through to intensive support for families who need to have regular contact while they work to bring about changes. Strengthening Families workers provide outreach support in families' homes, or wherever is most effective and practical for parents and children. At times Strengthening Families also develop and facilitate groups that address specific areas of need for families.

Kildonan 's Strengthening Families is part of the North East Metropolitan Child and Family Services Alliance. That Alliance is made up of nine community service organisations in the five local government areas of Yarra, Darebin, Whittlesea, Banyule and Nillumbik. Kildonan works together with the other agencies to provide coordinated service delivery.

This includes working together so that there is a central point that can take referrals from anyone who has concerns about the wellbeing of a child. The central intake point is called Child Family Information Referral and Support Team (Child FIRST).

Child FIRST is located at the Children's Protection Society and can be contacted on (03) 9450 0955.

Families can contact Child FIRST or make direct contact with Kildonan's Strengthening Families program:

• Kildonan's Collingwood Office (for families in the City of Yarra) on (03) 9411 0444
• Kildonan's Epping Office (for families in the Cities of Darebin or Whittlesea) on (03) 8401 .0100

Indigenous families have particular needs that are often inadequately met by generalist services. Kildonan's Family Links service aims to ensure that a culturally appropriate service is provided, whilst acknowledging the value of drawing on expertise from both generalist and indigenous services.

Family Links provides specialist in-home support to families from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island backgrounds across the North and West Metropolitan Region of Melbourne.

Kildonan and Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) work in partnership to support indigenous families.

For further information please contact our Collingwood office on (03) 9411 0444 or email infocollingwood@kildonan.org.au.

Kildonan's Alcohol and Other Drug Parenting Support Service (AODPSS) offers professional family support to parents with alcohol or other drug (AOD) problems.

This service is available where one or both parents either:

• live in the City of Yarra, Darebin, Whittlesea, Banyule or Nillumbik and attend an AOD counselling service or
• live in specialist AOD supported accommodation services in the North and West region of Melbourne

Kildonan's workers work alongside AOD workers who are supporting parents to help address problems that parents may face looking after their children.

Kildonan's AODPSS operates within an approach which is empowering, focused on family strengths and always conscious of the developmental needs of children and young people.

For more information please contact our Collingwood office on (03) 9411 0444 or email infocollingwood@kildonan.org.au.