Looking Forward supports women across Brighton and Hove who have previously had a child or children permanently removed from their care.  We are an outreach service offering non-judgemental client-centred support to women.

At Oasis we know woman who have had a child removed from their care experience multiple compound needs and a greater risk of substance use and/or have been impacted by substance use at some time in their life. If you’re a woman who has had a child/children removed from your care:

You can refer yourself to Looking Forward, or you can ask a professional or someone you trust to refer you. You can do this by calling the service, sending us an email or filling in our online referral form.

Once we have received your referral, we will contact you over the phone to discuss next steps with one of our dedicated Looking Forward Practitioners.

You can meet with your practitioner on a regular basis either at our service in central Brighton, at your home or somewhere in the community you feel safe, such as a cafe or community centre. You will build a relationship together based on trust. We also offer phone and online appointments when face to face is not possible.

Your practitioner will work closely with you to identify what you may need help with to make positive changes that matter to you. We can offer you support around:

• – Engaging in meaningful contact with your children, whether that is face to face or by Letterbox arrangements
• – Exploring your current parenting role as a mother even though you are separated from their child/ren
• – Access to other services to help with drug and alcohol issues, domestic abuse, mental health, housing or education/training

The support we offer through Looking Forward is long-term. Your Practitioner will take the time to support you to build trust within the relationship and make a plan together with you once you are ready to move on from the service.

If you’re a professional working with a woman who has had a child removed from her care:

You can refer someone you’re working with to the service using the online referral form. A Looking Forward Practitioner will be in touch to discuss your referral and arrange next steps.

We also offer professional consultancy as part of the Looking Forward Service. If you are working with a woman who has had a child removed from their care and you are looking for some brief support or advice then please do contact us by phone or email using the details below and we will be in touch.

Oasis Project will hold a bi-monthly roundtable discussion on working with women who have had their children removed for local professionals and leaders to discuss best practice, and ways to strengthen approaches and systems. Looking Forward welcomes these opportunities to collaboratively share knowledge to widen the reach of its expertise and improve the lives for women locally. Please get in touch using the contact details below if you’d like to be invited to the next roundtable event.

Contact Looking Forward for information or support:

By email: [email protected]

By phone: 07718 126517

Make a referral: https://www.tfaforms.com/4821489

Looking Forward was recently evaluated by Fulfilling Lives. You can read the full report here.