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Our Mission

Our mission is to ensure support, awareness and understanding of eating disorder amongst the wide community as well as advocating for the right and healthcare need of people affected by eating disorder.

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Bodywhys | The Eating Disorders Association of Ireland

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Bodywhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, is the national voluntary organisation supporting people affected by eating disorders

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Healthy lunch recipes for all occasions. Recipes for delicious lunches, nutritionally analysed by our team of experts.

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We in An Garda Síochána, the Irish Police Service, take domestic and sexual abuse very seriously and are here to help. Domestic abuse can take a variety of forms it can be physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and financial abuse. It can occur within a family between one family member against…

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Welcome to Men's Aid Ireland - Men's Aid

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Men's Aid Ireland formerly known as Amen, is the only dedicated national service supporting men and their families experiencing Domestic Violence in Ireland. Our professional and qualified support team have years of experience in supporting men and families experiencing domestic abuse.

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We know that taking that first step, like picking up the phone, can be daunting and scary. But, staff in domestic abuse services are highly trained and experienced. They are there to listen and respond to your needs. They will not pressure you to make any decisions.

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Everyone has the right to live free from violence and abuse. If you are experiencing domestic violence, you are not alone. There is support available to you. We know that taking that first step can be daunting and scary. Find your local domestic violence support service here.

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We use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it. We have configured Google Analytics to anonymise your IP address so that you are not personally identified. We gather information on:

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Find your local Enable Ireland Children’s Services centre.

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Enable Ireland focuses on the individual, not the disability. We aim to provide a unique, tailored service to every child and family using our services.

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What is Family Support?

Family Support is a style of work and a wide range of activities that strengthen positive informal social networks through community based programmes and services. The main focus of these services is on early intervention aiming to promote and protect the health, well-being and rights of all children, young people and their families. At the same time particular attention is given to those who are vulnerable or at risk.

Family Support Services:

Family Support Services are for families and individuals who need help. Family life is not always easy. Life events like birth, death, depression, redundancy, separation, illness, abuse or financial problems all put stress and strain on family life and relationships.

Family Support Services can help. Simply having someone to talk to about your problem can be the easiest way to begin to deal with your problem. There are many support groups for adults, teenagers, children and carers that give people the chance to tell their own stories and give support to each other. Specialist services provide support for domestic violence or child abuse. Family Support services are generally provided to families in their own homes and communities.

Your concerns are dealt with in confidence by trained personnel who will give the appropriate support, advice and help. Click here to contact a social worker or click here to see a list of Family Resource Centres in your area.

In cases where a child's/person's safety is in danger, social services or the Gardai may need to be informed, but this will be discussed first. If a child is at risk they may move into foster care or residential care.

Whatever your circumstances the Child and Family Agency provide a range of services that offer advice and support to families. This includes family support workers, social workers, youth workers, family resource centres, support groups and counselling services. These types of services help families work through difficult issues, ensure children have a stable environment to live in, and provide support for parents who are finding it hard to cope.

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Family SupportTusla - Child and Family Agency

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Family Support is a style of work and a wide range of activities that strengthen positive informal social networks through community based programmes and services. The main focus of these services is on early intervention aiming to promote and protect the health, well-being and rights of all children, young people and their families.

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Parentline Can Help

Parentline is a national, confidential helpline that offers parents support, information and guidance on all aspects of being a parent and any parenting issues.

COVID-19

These continue to be challenging times for parents. Issues such as compliance with back to school rules and protocols, worries and fears about the return to the school setting, school refusal and the reluctance of some children and teenagers to return to school are just some of the difficulties with which parents are dealing.

Additionally parents continue to face the problem of children displaying anger, aggression and anxiety along with all the other issues and stresses of day to day parenting. As a result Parentline is experiencing a large increase in the number of callers to the helplines. This might mean callers not getting through or having to call a number of times.

But be assured that Parentline is there and continues to provide support, information and guidance to parents. We ask you to be patient and to be assured that we are there to listen to callers on all issues and in relation to children of all ages.

Our lines are open from Monday to Thursday from 10am to 9pm and on Fridays from 10am to 4pm. Call 01 8733500 or 1890 927277.

Parenting Teens During COVID?

Tips for Parents During Lockdown

The pandemic and the associated lockdowns have made parenting even more challenging than usual. There is a colossal amount being asked of parents. However, there are some actions parents can take to support themselves and their wellbeing and mental health along with that of their child or young person during lockdown and particularly now that the schools are once again temporarily closed. Parents can be more supportive to others if they are better prepared themselves.

Support and guidance for parents

Search Common Questions

We've compiled a list of the most common questions we get in a range of topics that come up for parents. Search below for the difficulty you're experiencing and we can help.

View All Topics

There is no typical call

Parents call with all sorts of problems and children of all ages offer different parenting challenges. Anxiety, anger, aggression, isolation and loneliness, bullying, discipline, frustration, school refusal, drugs, teenage issues and verbal and emotional abuse are just some of the main reasons for the calls we receive daily. What all our callers have in common is that they are seeking help, support and guidance. The vast majority of our callers are overwhelmingly satisfied with the service offered and the assistance received.

COMMON AREAS

Postnatal Depression

Parentline is the only national helpline, that offers support to new mothers suffering with the baby blues or postnatal depression, in confidence and over the phone. This means that a new mother does not have to get organised to leave the comfort of her own home if she needs support. Very often a depressed mother finds it very difficult to get dressed not to mind to leave her own house. Parentline offers a support service in her own home.

Read more

COMMON AREAS

Non Violent Resistance (NVR)

Non Violent Resistance is an evidence-based, non-blaming and relatively short-term intervention model that empowers parents and people working with them to take positive action to end the abusive and/or violent behaviour of a child.

In association with What Works.

Read more

COMMON AREAS

School Refusal

School refusal can make parents feel as though they have somehow failed, even though it is generally not their fault. It can require collaborative interaction between the child, the parents and the school, to resolve it.

Read more

3,000+

Calls per year

From people experiencing difficulties

30+

Years Helping People

Over 30 years of being there for parents.

1

Objective

To give you the best possible support for your situation.

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Parentline Can Help Parentline is a national, confidential helpline that offers parents support, information and guidance on all aspects of being a parent and any parenting issues. COVID-19 These continue to be challenging times for parents.

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All families would benefit from support at some point in their lives. There are many useful supports available for children, young people and parents. However, the many sources of information, advice and support can be overwhelming.

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All families would benefit from support at some point in their lives. There are many useful supports available for children, young people and parents. However, the many sources of information, advice and support can be overwhelming.

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Family Support services help children and families find a way to positively change things they are concerned about or finding difficult.

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The Child and Family Agency

The Child and Family Agency (also known as Tusla) can put you in touch with a social worker if your family needs additional support.

Social workers and family support workers work closely with parents and children to find out what your family's needs are, and to develop a plan to meet those needs.

The agency can also offer you support through:

parenting courses and family support services

Meitheal - a community-based support service for families

child and family support networks

marriage counselling

child counselling

bereavement counselling

family mediation - this is a free and confidential service that helps parents who have decided to separate or divorce.

For more information visit the Tusla website or call 01 635 2854.

Tusla also have more tips on parenting.

More support information

Women's Aid can help with women's refuge centres. Phone 1800 341 900

Barnardo's help children and families who need extra support at times. Phone 1850 222 300

Your local Citizens Information centre can give you information on benefits and entitlements. Phone 0761 07 4000

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) can help with financial problems and debt. Phone 0761 07 2000

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The Child and Family Agency (also known as Tusla) can put you in touch with a social worker if your family needs additional support. Social workers and family support workers work closely with parents and children to find out what your family's needs are, and to develop a plan to meet those needs.

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Women's Aid - Domestic violence service in Ireland

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The Women's Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline offers confidential information, support and understanding to women in the Republic of Ireland, who are being abused by current or former boyfriends, partners or husbands.

The service also supports family members, friends, and professionals who have concerns about a person, they know or are working with, who might be experiencing domestic violence and abuse. The Helpline provides support to callers where English is not their first language, through our Language Line facility (operational daily, 8am-8pm) and for women who are deaf or hard of hearing through it's Text Service facility (operational daily, 8am-8pm).

The Helpline aims to empower women to identify what is happening for them within their relationship and support them to stay safe and support the safety of any children living within the relationship. The Helpline aims to at all times ensure that the responsibility for the abuse is placed firmly with the perpetrator of the abuse and not with the woman.

The Helpline also acts as a referral to the Women's Aid One to One Support Service and Court Accompaniment Service, local domestic violence refuges and support services, legal aid and other agencies, both statutory and voluntary, which are helpful to women experiencing abuse within a relationship.

The Helpline team alos run the National Helpline Instant Messaging Support Service (IMSS). Visit here for more information.

Helpline standards

1. Women's Aid aims to respond to all calls in a non judgemental way.

2. Women's Aid aims to respond to 70% of calls received within 20 seconds during opening hours.

3. Women's Aid aims to respond to requests for interpreters within 3 minutes.

4. Women's Aid aims to respond to all emails within 3 working days.

Making the first Helpline call

We understand how daunting it can be to pick up the phone and tell someone about what is happening to you. Many initial calls to our Helpline are silent. Women have told us later that they were too afraid and ashamed to speak to anyone, not even to family and friends.

We will give you time to speak and will understand if you cannot speak today.

The confidential and anonymous nature of the Women's Aid Helpline provides a safe, non-judgemental space for you to talk about your experiences.

If you, or someone you know, is afraid of someone who is close to you, you can call us on 1800 341 900, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Who can call the Helpline?

Women who are experiencing, or who have experienced, domestic violence.

Friends and family seeking to support women and children who are experiencing, or who have experienced, domestic violence.

Professionals supporting women and children who are experiencing, or who have experienced, domestic violence.

When is it open?

Is it free?

Yes. It is a National Freephone Helpline. You will not be charged for your call from a landline.

You should not be charged for your call from a mobile phone.

However, if you find that you are being charged when callling the Helpline from a mobile phone, you can notify the Women's Aid support worker who answers your call, and they will call you right back if this is safe for you.

Then you can call your mobile service provider's customer service number to request that these charges are taken off, and that you are no longer charged for 1800 numbers.

At times, new phones come with an automatic block on 1800 numbers. If you find you are blocked, then call your mobile provider's customer service number and ask to have the block removed, which they should be able to do straight away.

Will the Helpline number show up on my bill?

It will not appear on your Eir phone bill. However, please check with your home or mobile service provider (O2, Vodafone, etc) to make sure. We cannot guarantee that the number will not appear. The number may also appear in the call log of your mobile phone. Read more about phone safety here.

Who will answer my call?

The Helpline is staffed by professional and well trained staff and volunteers. The Helpline is staffed by women at all times.

What kind of support is given by the Helpline?

Helpline workers will listen to you, believe you and support you. We will not judge you. We will not tell you what to do. Your safety is our main concern.

Women's Aid believes that you are the best judge of your safety. Helpline workers will talk through your options with you.

Helpline workers can refer you to a local domestic violence support service or women's refuge. We can also provide you with a range of information on finance, housing, children, court orders and social welfare.

How often can I ring?

What happens if the phone is not answered?

If you ring and cannot get through it is because our support workers are currently taking calls from other women. Please keep trying. You will get through.

If you find the Helpline is busy when you call, there is an option for you to leave a voice message with your name and contact number. Please only leave your contact details if it is safe to receive a call from us. We will call you back and the number will show up as a 'private number'.

What kind of response is given to emails?

You can email the Women's Aid Helpline at helpline@womensaid.ie for basic information. However, Women's Aid cannot provide support via email. We will endeavour to respond to your email within three working days.

Please note that we do not open attachments to emails.

Women's Aid offers a confidential service for women seeking help and support. This means that when you call or email us you do not have to give any identifying information such as name, address or telephone number. However, if you do give us identifying information and we are concerned that a child is at risk, we will have to pass on that information to the appropriate agencies, as we operate within Children First. Click here for our service users policies on confidentiality and complaints.

We recommend that you call the National Freephone Helpline on 1800 341 900, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for support and information.

What is the Instant Messaging Support Service?

The National Helpline Instant Messing Support Service where you can chat with our specialist Helpline support workers online and in confidence. Click on the Need Help? icon on the bottom right hand side of our website or visit here for more information.

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24hr National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900 | Women's Aid - Domestic violence service in Ireland

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The Women's Aid 24hr National Freephone Helpline offers confidential information, support and understanding to women in the Republic of Ireland, who are being abused by current or former boyfriends, partners or husbands. The service also supports family members, friends, and professionals who have concerns about a person, they know or are working with, who might be experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

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Drug and Alcohol Information and Support in Ireland - Drugs.ie

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Drug and Alcohol Information and Support for Teenagers, Parents and Carers. Free, Confidential Live Chat. Advice and Support from Drugs.ie

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Pieta | Preventing Suicide and Self-Harm since 2006

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Pieta provides free, therapeutic approach to people who are in suicidal distress, engage in self-harm, or bereaved by suicide, 24/7. Reach out to us today!

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A young person who attended Jigsaw

As a teenager I received the mental health support I needed. The work we did together has helped make me who I am today and I strongly believe that every young person should be able to access that kind of help.

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Visit Jigsaw.ie | The National Centre for Youth Mental Health

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We offer a listening ear, and give expert advice and support, online and in person, to young people across Ireland, aged 12 - 25 years-old.

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We are pleased to offer parents and guardians a chance to join us on zoom to learn more about Rainbows

The session aims to tell you about the Rainbows programmes, how they work and how they can support your son/daughter in advance of your son or daughter attending or perhaps they have already attended or you may be thinking about enrolling them . The session will help you make an informed decision.

Rainbows is 35 years in Ireland. We have learnt a lot from children and young people and what their concerns and worries can be. The focus of every session is on children/young people and is not on adult issues. It explores how children of different ages and stages of development can be affected by what has happened, highlighting what is normal and how attending the programme can help.

It is an informal welcoming space to listen - no pressure to speak - questions can be asked at any time.

Many parents and guardians have attended to date and have indicated how helpful it has been.

Feedback from these sessions in 2021-2022 was really positive - we hope to build on our support for parents going forward.

It's great for children to see that they are not alone & there are lots of other children in the same position.

Thank you so much, incredibly valuable and supportive

Absolutely amazing session. Empathy, professionalism from start to finish.

I felt very alone and so drowning in it all. I'm feeling better and know I am not alone. Thank you for everything.

Finding out that my kids behaviour is quite normal

Being able to share and chat with parents going through the separation was v helpful also

Ideas of what to do when kids are emotional or struggling was good to learn

We very much look forward to welcoming you on zoom.

Please boil the kettle, bring your cuppa and log in to meet Anne from Rainbows who will deliver the sessions
Dates for "Introduction for Parents/Guardians to the Rainbows Ireland Separation Programmes" Dates for "Introduction for Parents/Guardians to the Rainbows Ireland Bereavement Programme"

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Rainbows Ireland - Supporting Children with Bereavement and Parental Separation

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We are pleased to offer parents and guardians a chance to join us on zoom to learn more about Rainbows The session aims to tell you about the Rainbows programmes, how they work and how they can support your son/daughter in advance of your son or daughter attending or perhaps they have already attended or you may be thinking about enrolling them .

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To facilitate individuals through learning, to achieve their full potential and contribute to Ireland’s social, cultural and economic development.

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SchoolDays.ie - Ireland's Online Resource for Parents & Teachers in Irish Education

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Schooldays.ie - Parenting & Education in Ireland. Ireland's top site for parenting and school resources through pre-school, primary and secondary years. Resources for parents, parents associations, teachers and schools.

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News Update

14/11/2023

FEAPDA
REGISTRATION & CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS - 27th FEAPDA Conference

Diversity in deaf education: Exploring the diversity of deaf learners in their many lives: implications for our knowledge and practice.

26-27 April 2024 in The Grand Hotel, Malahide, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

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National Council for Special Education - Working to deliver a better special education service - Working to deliver a better special education service

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14/11/2023 FEAPDA REGISTRATION & CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS - 27th FEAPDA Conference Diversity in deaf education: Exploring the diversity of deaf learners in their many lives: implications for our knowledge and practice. 26-27 April 2024 in The Grand Hotel, Malahide, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

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Make A Difference In The Life Of A Child. Donate We are making a difference Join Us Volunteering Every day, men and women across Ireland help the ISPCC to make [...]

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Reach out for any reason, anytime. Childline is always here for every child and young person. Childline Ukrainian Services Childline Ukrainian Services Free Phone 1800 666666 Live Chat - it's easy! Info & Advice How I Feel Friends Home & Families Sexuality & Relationships Bullying, Abuse, Safety and Your Rights Education & Work About Me [...]

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NPC exists to ensure that all parents are supported and empowered to become effective partners in their children's education.