Bath Child Contact Centre (BCCC) is accepting new referrals again, following a period where they had to only offer a limited service due to lockdown precautions.
The centre offers a location where the children of separated, and often acrimonious relationships, can spend two hours on a Saturday maintaining contact with an otherwise absent parent when there is no alternative, or they feel in need of support.
BCCC supports children in Bath and the surrounding villages. It is child centred and run by well-trained volunteers. It is well equipped and provides a friendly, non-judgmental relaxed atmosphere in which a child and parent can play together.
The centre has been operating for the last 30 years from the halls in Grove Street of the Central United Reformed Church. There are separate entrances, meaning that parents do not have to meet.
Linda Wyon, honorary president who founded the centre in 1991, said, “COVID inevitably reduced family contact and so numbers at the centre declined. However, we now have a good capacity for new families and are keen to support children who, because their parents are separated, may not see one of them regularly.
“Some children just come for a few visits and others for a great deal longer. It’s so hard for these children and their estranged parent but sometimes we have to remind them that no one comes for ever.”
Referrals are made through the courts, CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), solicitors or by self-referral by both separated parents. Applicants need to book an appointment.
To find out more, contact BCCC co-ordinator Siobhan on 07791 482030, email email hidden; JavaScript is required or visit www.bathchildcontactcentre.co.uk