Back in July, a new contract for social work and welfare services for the forces community in Cyprus was introduced. Here, Claire Thomas, business support manager from the British Forces Social Work Service (BFSWS) and Community Support Cyprus, tells us more about what you can expect…
For families who use the service, the key message is it’s business as usual, with the current social work and support services still available, through the same qualified and experienced staff.
The service has been transferred to Polaris Children’s Services (formerly Core Assets) from the previous provider, SSAFA.
Polaris is keen to emphasise the only changes to the service will be in the name and Nick McPartlan, from the organisation, said: “We’ll build on its current strengths and ensure we’re providing the best support to the community, which will include further development of early intervention agenda to enable you to get the right help at the earliest possible opportunity.
Wing Commander Marcus Collinge, from the headquarters J1 Branch, said the future was looking very positive: “BFC is delighted to be working with Polaris Children’s Services. Despite the considerable constraints which COVID-19 placed on the contract ‘go live’ date, everyone worked extremely hard to ensure that there was a seamless transition between SSAFA and Polaris.
“Polaris has already provided social work services for military communities in Germany and across the world. We look forward to working together to nurture a close relationship over the next four years. SSAFA will also still be on the island, providing the community healthcare contract.”
Janice Danson, BFSWS Head of Service Cyprus, added: “We’re very pleased with how the transition has gone and we will continue to review our services to ensure we are providing the best service to our military community.”
There’s a great website where you can discover more about the range of services provided, visit https://www.forcessocialwork.com/
If you have any questions, email contactuscyprus@forcessocialwork.com