If you would like to request support for a child or young person then please read the below criteria carefully, we are only commissioned to work with children and young people who meet our criteria.
The Somerset Phoenix Project is a recovery service, not a crisis service. We will provide support related to childhood sexual abuse and will prioritise cases which have involved physical contact.
Once you are happy you meet the critiera please download the most appropriate request for support form at the end.
Criteria
Children and young people must:
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be a resident in the Somerset County Council local authority area.
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be aged 1-18 at time of the request for support.
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of had a minimum of 6 months passed since their disclosure of sexual abuse.
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be in a safe and stable place in their life to allow our therapeutic recovery work to have the maximum impact.
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be safe from harm and not subject to ongoing trauma or the risk of being re-traumatised.
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not be subject to current child protection work.
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not be already receiving another specialist support service. However, we will look to offer consultation to the lead professional supporting the child/young person. We will consider cases where the specialist support has a planned ending.
Professionals making the request
The professional making the request for support must provide some dates that we can contact you to discuss the case further before we take it to triage.
All requests for support will be the start of partnership work with the professional requesting support. This will require the case to remain open during this partnership work. Research shows how important it is for professionals to work together and although it is possible for Phoenix support to be part of a ‘step down’ plan this needs to be agreed via a team around the child/family meeting.
Requests from staff at social care if the child is a looked after child (LAC) need to have been discussed with the Emotional Health and Well-being Team prior to submitting the form. We will contact your organisations nominated strategic link to our team.
We will liaise with specialist CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation) services to agree whether it is appropriate for Phoenix to support a child or young person affected by CSE.
Incomplete ‘request for support’ forms will be returned.
Parents requesting support for their Child or Young Person
If for whatever reason there are no current professionals supporting your child you can ask for support on thier behalf by filling in the parent/carer support request form.
Children and Young People requesting support for yourself
If for whatever reason there are no current professionals in your life, you can ask for support by filling in the self-referral support request form.
Download the professional request form