This also increases the inhibition threshold to communicate challenges and burdens with outsiders and to seek suitable support services and help.
In order to make it easier for mothers and fathers, the specialist service for children, youth and family of the city of Salzgitter invited the members of the Salzgitter network plenum "Early help and child protection in Salzgitter" to a kick-off event for addressing parents at the town hall in Lebenstedt. Under the motto "Is it normal that I'm so insecure?", the focus was on how professionals in the field of "early help" can allay parents' fears.
It was about the fear, explained Dr. Dirk Härdrich, Head of Social Affairs, "that as soon as you ask the city for help with parenting, the youth welfare office will be at your door the next day". It is important to show parents that these fears are unfounded and that a network of professionals is ready to help them.
Information material from the "National Center for Early Intervention" (NZFH)
"Many mothers and fathers don't know that there are lots of great offers," emphasized Christina Wiciok from the "Nummer gegen Kummer" association. However, not every advice center has to produce its own material. The "National Center for Early Intervention" (NZFH) publishes a tried-and-tested package of measures to support public relations work in the field of early intervention for federal states and local authorities. The NZFH materials advertise, for example, the parents' hotline "Nummer gegen Kummer" and the online advice service for parents provided by the Federal Conference for Educational Counseling (bke). Both services are established, available nationwide and can be accessed anonymously and free of charge by parents seeking advice.
According to Wiciok, experience from other cities shows that parents feel addressed by the information material and are happy to take it with them. "There is no finger pointing. We try to meet everyone where they are," said the project coordinator, explaining the concept.
"It is an approach that is even more low-threshold than usual and thus represents a very good extension of our already well-functioning approaches and offers in the respective districts and thus in the family centers, district meetings, daycare centers, schools, medical practices, counseling centers and many more," Anna Koch from the specialist service for children, youth and family of the city of Salzgitter was convinced.
In Salzgitter, it is planned to display and hang up the NZFH advertising material both in public and in protected areas. Such places are, for example, toilets and changing rooms in retail outlets, doctors' surgeries, advice centers, educational, social and health facilities. The Early Help staff in the city of Salzgitter have already collected almost 420 addresses in order to spread the message to parents throughout the city. The high-profile advertising campaign will be supported by sending out so-called "advertising packages" to 60 locations in Salzgitter in the form of large-scale city light posters. They will be displayed at bus stops, in shopping centers and on building walls from the second week of December 2019.
New Early Help logo
In order to be able to mark the work of the "Early Help and Child Protection in Salzgitter" network plenum in a way that is effective for the public in future, the members voted on a joint logo that afternoon. In future, it will be used on flyers, letterheads and on the homepages of all network partners and will ultimately make the cooperation network visible to families in Salzgitter.