- Coaching & Mentoring
- Triple P Family Transitions
- Support Groups
- Helpline
- McKenzie Friend/Family Court Support
- Becoming Dad Project
- Super Kids
- Wellbeing Support
- Supported Family Time
- Prisoner Reconnection Programme
- Aftercare Services
By offering these products and services, James’ Ark could help families going through difficult life challenges, like separation, to lower conflict and trauma through early intervention. The goal would be to support families in regaining the relationships they deserve with their family and to achieve the best outcomes for their children.
| James Cunninghamjames@jamesarkjersey.comwww.Jamesarkjersey.com |
Fatherless Impact
Children from fatherless homes account for 63% of youth suicides, 76% of young men in prison, 90% of homeless men, 75% of substance abusers, 85% of children who show behavioural issues come from fatherless homes and our young girls are 7x more likely to become teenage mums.
Coaching and Mentoring: Coaching and mentoring could be provided to help parents overcome any barriers that may be blocking a positive relationship with their children. This could include emotional coping strategies and dealing with family separation while keeping your children in mind.
COACHING is about your thinking and feeling, and the role of the coach is to support these and growth towards the goals, habits and behaviours that you set for yourself.
Understanding your goals
Clearing your head and thinking about what you want.
The process is broadly as follows… Talk about what you want and identify your goals and an action plan.
Meet regularly for 60 minutes to support the thinking, feeling and action progress towards those goals.
Review progress every four weeks.
Outcomes
1- Lowers impact of high conflict separation
2- Parents will learn to focus on goals and positive outcomes
3- Parents will have improved wellbeing and mental health
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, Triple P Family Transitions measurements and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Mentoring and Coaching: Coaching and mentoring could be provided to help parents overcome any barriers that may be blocking a positive relationship with their children. This could include emotional coping strategies and dealing with family separation while keeping your children in mind.
MENTORING is about your journey and where you want to get to. The role of the mentor is to support that journey with ideas, resources, advice although you remain responsible for your own choices, decisions and actions.
Navigating the route
Talking to people with experience about what may be the best path, once you are clear about what you want.
The process is broadly as follows… Gather any letters, emails, documents, orders, reports and offer guidance on the steps you can take for the journey that you want to take.
This can be done via email, face-to-face, telephone, with reference to agents, courses or other support where relevant.
Review progress every four weeks.
Outcomes
1- Lowers impact of high conflict separation
2- Parents will have improved wellbeing and mental health
3- Lowers fatherless children in Jersey
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, Triple P Family Transitions measurements and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Triple P Family Transitions Course: James’ Ark could run the Triple P family transitions course for separated families who are struggling. During these courses, families could be supported with wellbeing and emotional coping strategies.
Triple P Family Transitions is about supporting separated parents through the separation process, it is a 5-week intense course which covers various topics from how to talk to your children about the separation, how to engage positively with the other parent in a structured co-parent manner and looking after yourself with setting goals, coping strategies through breath work and mindfulness techniques.
The Family Transitions is a court recommended course.
Qualified trainer
The course is run by a qualified level 5 Triple P parenting coach, who you will learn various strategies about separation and the best way to work through the separation for you and your family. The course can be run on a one-to-one or a in a group setting, we would recommend the group setting, this has parents in similar situation who you can learn from, identify with and build positive relationships with for peer support.
Outcomes
1- Parents feel more confident in a co-parenting relationship
2- Parents will have improved wellbeing and mental health
3- Parents will feel more confident to speak to their children about separation
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, Triple P Family Transitions measurements and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Support Groups: James’ Ark could organize support groups where families going through separation can come together, share their experiences and challenges, and find solutions.
Support Group is about supporting separated parents through family transitions, this can be used as ongoing support after the Triple P family transitions course if parents still feel they need ongoing support and guidance. There is no timeline on how long you wish to use the group, some of our members have been attending the group since its first session in November 2020. The groups run different themes such as speaker groups, guest speakers from different agencies, topic discussions, wellbeing sessions, outings and open peer support sharing.
Experienced group facilitator
Our group facilitator has over a decade of experience in running support groups, from addiction groups to parenting groups. The groups are run to empower the parents to find their own answers and allow the group members to share their experiences, find solutions and witness the success of others. The group is setup to feel like their own, without any judgements. They abide by a set of group guidelines and 7 group principles which the parents are encouraged to use, while going through difficult life challenges.
Outcomes
1- Increased wellbeing in parents
2- Better parent & child relationships
3- Better co-parenting relationships
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, Triple P Family Transitions measurements and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Helpline: A helpline could be set up to provide guidance, one-to-one mentoring, coaching, advocacy, and mediation. This would provide families with a resource to turn to when they need help or guidance.
Helpline Support is about supporting parents through the separation process and is probably one of the most used tools of James’ Ark. Families often need to pick up the phone for guidance and advice on their case, this can often lower the impact on legal fees, if the question is not of a legal matter and more around conflict. Parents often find the helpline very effective when they are low and struggling to cope with the impact of the separation. When you are going through such a difficult time it is always good to talk, the helpline offers this to parents. The helpline has risen from an average of 40 calls per month to 200 calls per month in the last 12 months.
Helpline Worker
Our helpline is open 7 days a week and we take calls from 9am -7pm. The helpline can receive WhatsApp, text messages and will take an out of hour emergency situation. There have been numerous occasions when a 999 call has been made due to concerns for welfare and risk to themselves or others, these are not rare and have been made on a regular basis. The helpline can be used to listen, offer guidance, support and defuse high conflict situations.
Outcomes
1- Parents will have improved wellbeing and mental health
2- To answer 200 calls per month
3- Men will feel more confident to talk openly about their emotions
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, Triple P Family Transitions measurements and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
McKenzie Friend Service/Family Court Support: James’ Ark could offer a McKenzie Friend service where they provide advice and first-hand experience through the family court process. This could be particularly useful for fathers who are representing themselves in court.
A McKenzie Friend Service issomeone who can support within family court proceedings, they can give advice, guidance and emotional support through the proceedings. During a court hearing they can take notes for you, make suggestions on certain points being raised and help you organize your documents leading up to the court proceedings. A McKenzie friend cannot offer legal advice and cannot address the registrar in proceedings.
Family Court Support is very similar to the above, the only difference is we offer this service in line with lawyers, offering the emotional support and other wellbeing services throughout the charity. If we feel our service user would not do well representing themselves in family court proceedings, then we would advise them to apply for legal aid but offer our service along side a lawyer.
Intensive Support
Going through family court proceedings is a traumatic event for many parents, if it has already reached this point then it is clear that there is a disagreement and parents have reached a stage where there is conflict. We remain focused on the best outcome for the children and keeping the parent focused on their emotional wellbeing so that they can make the best decisions for their children’s future. We offer ongoing emotional support to the parents and signpost them to our other wellbeing services while going through this process. Keeping the parents supported through this process will help them to be more stable and present for their children.
Outcomes
1- Lowers legal fees for parents
2- Lowers conflict between parents
3- Improves parents wellbeing and mental health
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, Triple P Family Transitions measurements and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Becoming Dad Project: The becoming dad project could support new fathers or soon to be fathers to be prepared for what to expect in parenthood.
The Becoming Dad Project is geared towards soon to be and new fathers. This can educate fathers from preconception right to the early stages of birth. The purpose of this project is to aim this towards fathers in the belief that more fathers will come forward and gain support through the pregnancy stages, this can then build a stronger relationship and understanding between the parents, leading to a closer family unit from the early stages of family life.
Project for change
The project is run by our CEO & Founder who designed the presentation for early intervention to keep families together. This will be a group or individual program which will trigger group discussion and build more positive relationships in new families. Many fathers do not get support and are not aware of the changes in life that happen when becoming a father, we hope to change this and prepare fathers for the joys and challenges of fatherhood.
Outcomes
- Builds confidence in fathers during pregnancy and early years of birth.
- Better wellbeing and mental health in parents
- Better understanding of the father’s role in early child development
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, Triple P Family Transitions measurements and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Super Kids: Teaching children the power of meditation and offering different coping strategies to support them through separation and divorce.
The Super Kids project is a group which teaches mindfulness and meditation for children. This will allow children to learn the techniques of mindfulness in depth and explore different coping strategies while in a fun and calm environment. This will be specifically targeted towards separated & fatherless children and will be the first support aimed at this group of children.
The groups will be tailored to an age category of 7-11 and 11-16, and we will run them in groups of 8-10 children.
Teaching children their super power
The brain – Children can learn how important their thoughts are and how they have control over their own thinking. Different approaches that children can learn are basic mindfulness, breath work, meditation, guided meditation, body scan and mantra meditation. These can be tools they can learn and take home.
1- Lower the impact of separation and divorce on children
2- Children will feel supported with their mental health
3- Children will feel confident to use emotional coping strategies
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, Triple P Family Transitions measurements and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Wellbeing Support: James’ Ark offers wellbeing to parents going through difficult life challenges, such as family separation and divorce. Wellbeing is best described as a positive state of mind, good physical and mental health and serenity within.
Wellbeing: We believe wellbeing is fundamental in family separation and our primary focus is around parent’s wellbeing. If a father is impacted from the separation, his mindset is distorted and this is where he may act out of character, putting himself and others in danger. We put this service at the top of our list.
Health & Happiness:
We have all different types of wellbeing services we offer from counselling, Wim Hoff retreats, mindfulness exercises, meditation trainers and physical fitness. We offer these services to both parents impacted by separation.
Outcomes
1- improved physical health
2- Improved mental health
3- Improved self-esteem
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Supported Family Time: James’ Ark recognises the significance of fostering positive family interactions, especially during handovers between separated parents. Our tailored approach focuses on creating a supportive and respectful environment, ensuring that these transitions are as smooth and stress-free as possible for both parents and, most importantly the children.
Reconnection and Rebuilding Trust: For parents seeking to reconnect after an extended absence or those navigating trust issues, our program provides a safe and monitored environment. We facilitate the rebuilding of trust through structured processes, fostering an atmosphere conductive to positive interaction.
Our aim is to create meaningful and lasting connections within families. We invite parents to benefit from our Supported Family Time program.
Emotional Support:
Separated parents often navigate a range of emotions during handovers. James’ Ark provides emotional support, offering a listening ear and guidance to help parents manage their feelings, ensuring a positive atmosphere for the children.
Our focus is always on the well-being of the children. We always encourage parents to consider their preferences and feelings.
Outcomes
1- Improved Parent-Child Relationships
2- Reduced Conflict and Tensions
3- Enhanced Coping Skills and Well-being
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Prisoner Reconnection Programme: James’ Ark Prisoner Reconnection Programme is committed to breaking down barriers, fostering positive change, and ensuring a child-focused approach to reconnection. Through these outcomes, we strive to empower incarcerated parents on their journey towards successful rehabilitation and renewed relationships with their children.
Enhanced Parent Child Relationship: Facilitating structured communication and visitation opportunities to foster meaningful connections between incarcerated parents and their children.
Providing resources and guidance to strengthen co-parenting skills, ensuring a positive impact on the parent-child relationship.
Child Centered Approach:
Emphasizing the well-being of the children by creating an environment that minimizes conflict and prioritizes the child’s perspective in all interactions.
Implementing educational initiatives to equip parents with the necessary skills to support their children’s emotional and developmental needs.
Outcomes
1- Family Reintegration
2- Reduced Recidivism
3- Improved Social Adjustment
Method Measurement
The outcomes and success will be measured using our Key Performance Indicators, and our feedback forms, these will be used on admission and discharge.
Aftercare services: Aftercare services could be provided for any families who have been through the separation process, whether this be a positive or negative outcome for them. This emotional support could help families deal with any issues that may arise after separation.
These services are offered as an add on package for anyone who uses the above services. We understand that it takes time to recover after a separation and want to make sure people receive aftercare for a period sufficient to their needs.