ABOUT US

As an independent youth welfare organisation, AMSOC e.V. has specialised in the challenges of children of mentally ill parents for over 20 years. Our organisation offers affected families various support services.

One of these support services is our mentoring programme that arranges mentorships for children of mentally ill parents. As additional caregivers, mentors can be an important protective factor for the children’s healthy development, as resilience research shows.

By finding a volunteer mentor, your child will have another adult at their side as a permanent contact and reference person.

“I’m no longer so alone. The mentor also has an eye on my child and perhaps sees things differently to me. It just helps me to know that my son has a contact person who likes him and with whom he can do nice things together. The two of them are a great team“

Quote from a participating mother in 2015

OUR MENTORSHIP OPTIONS

WITHOUT OVERNIGHT STAY

  • once a week, your child meets with their mentor on a fixed day

WITH OVERNIGHT STAY

  • once a week, your child meets with their mentor on a fixed day
  • once a month, your child can also stay overnight at their mentor’s place
  • the mentor offers your child a “temporary home”: Your child can stay with their mentor for up to eight weeks if you are unable to take care of them yourself. This means that your child remains in a familiar environment during this time. This means that it is not necessary for your child to be placed with a foster family or in a children’s home

REQUIREMENTS

Our programme is aimed exclusively at parents with a mental illness. The prerequisites for participation are as follows:

  • Your mental illness has been diagnosed by a doctor or a psychological psychotherapist.
  • You and your child/children live in the same household.
  • You do not have reliable support in caring for your child/children.
  • Your child has no adult caregiver other than you to rely on.
  • Your child agrees to a mentorship.
  • You live in Berlin.

MATCHING PROCESS

The matchmaking consists of several meetings between you and the future mentor. The process is guided and supervised by a social worker. In doing so, we pay in particular attention to:

  • physical proximity or good public transport connections between you and the mentor
  • common interests
  • wishes regarding age, gender, number of children, family constellation
  • Is there a spark? Do you like each other? Can everyone imagine a long-term relationship with each other?

SUPPORT

We are providing professional support for the entire duration of the mentorship, from matchmaking until the 18th birthday of your child. This includes:

  • Emergency phone number
  • Information about further support services
  • Support in educating your children about your disease
  • Opportunities to network with other families (parents’ café, autumn festival)

Should there be any questions or concerns about your mentorship, your case worker will stay in touch and work with you through it.

Are you interested in a mentorship with us?

Please feel free to contact us in writing

or to give us a call on 030/ 33 77 26 82!

We will record your details by hand and then send you a declaration of consent for the use and storage of your data. If you sign the declaration and send it back to us, you will be placed on our waiting list. As soon as we have found a suitable sponsor for you, we will contact you.