Kinship Care Northern Ireland (KCNI) supports kinship carers and their children. They offer training, personal development programmes and a range of activities to build the confidence and resilience of children, their carers and families. Their oldest volunteer is aged 69 and is raising her 3 grandchildren. The youngest is aged 21 and is bringing up his 15 year old sister following the death of his mother. The services offered include: a drop-in centre, a specialist Advocacy Service, a Youth Champions Project, a LifeStory Project, Peer Support Programme and a Siblings Programme to ensure children in kinship care have the opportunity to spend time with their siblings living in foster care or other kinship care arrangements. KCNI run a 'Caring for Kin' Project for grandparents who have taken on the care of their grandchildren in very difficult and traumatic circumstances. They also offer practical support to kinship carers via their ‘Kinnections’ Project to alleviate the poverty and hardship many kinship carers experience when they take on the care of children in an emergency. A Major Grant of £99,823 over 3-years was awarded for the salary of a Family Support Worker.
