Healthy Empowering Relationship Advisory Service

Healthy Empowering Relationship Advisory Service

Support Services for Children & Young People
  • What is this service?
  • Who is it for?
  • What does it offer?
  • Where is it available?
  • Next Steps
  • Helpful resources

Targeted 1:1 and group support for young women and gender diverse individuals with a focus on healthy relationships.

What is this service?

This service is designed to support and empower young women and gender diverse individuals to make informed choices about the emotional and physical relationships that they have, and give them the confidence and emotional resilience to put them into practice.

Who is it for?

The service is for young women, girls and gender diverse individuals aged 10 -18 years who live in Kent and would benefit from some extra support to improve their well-being and develop positive intimate relationships as a result of their life experiences. This may include sexual exploitation, coercive and abusive relationships, and familial domestic abuse.

What does it offer?

The basis of this trauma informed service is the development of a positive relationship with a trusted practitioner. From this, we will work with young people for up to 12 weeks to enhance knowledge, build resilience and promote self-efficacy.

It covers; healthy consensual, safe relationships, and friendships; children’s rights, grooming, exploitation, safety online; and helping children explore and understand their feelings, brains, and bodies, with tips and strategies to develop skills in emotional education and regulation.

Children are also encouraged to build a support network of trusted people around them to help them feel safer and happier.

We are led by the young person so, support may be group-based or 1-1 and can be offered face-to-face, virtually or via telephone; in spaces they feel most comfortable in.

Where is it available?

The service is available countywide across Kent.

Next Steps

Anyone can refer to HERA, including parents, professionals, and the young person themselves. We only accept referrals with the informed consent of the young person. Referrals will be triaged based on the service criteria and we will contact the referrer in 72 hours (working hours) to let you know the outcome or if more information is required.

Helpful resources

Getting Advice

Kent Resilience Hub is a resource that helps young people, parents and carers, staff and practitioners to understand emotional wellbeing and resilience.

Moodspark is a website where young people aged 10-16 can learn how to look after their emotional and mental health and find ways to help them bounce back when life gets tough.

Getting Help

Kooth is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, aged 10-18, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop. It offers opportunity for interaction with other young people i.e. through chat rooms, articles from other young people and a daily journal activity. Kooth also offers 1:1 online counselling sessions through a team of experienced counsellors.

Getting More Help and Risk Support

Mental health Single Point of Access (SPA) – if you are concerned about a young person’s thoughts, feelings or behaviours, the SPA can help you to find the most appropriate contact for your concerns.

Front Door Where the referrer feels that a high level of support is needed for a child, young person, these requests should be sent to the Front Door without prior telephone discussion, unless a professional consultation is considered necessary. If you feel that a consultation is necessary, an initial consultation should take place with your Designated Safeguarding Lead prior to any consultation with a Social Worker at the Front Door.