What are natural support networks?

Developing natural support networks

What are natural support networks?

Natural support networks are the people present in a person’s life who may be able to support them in particular situations. This enables people to interact more naturally in the community, creates opportunities for widening the circle of people they know and lessens their reliance on paid support staff.

Natural support networks can include family, whanau, friends, peers, volunteers, work colleagues, club members, or simply acquaintances. They play varying roles to varying degrees, depending on their own desire or capability to be involved in a person’s life.

Natural support networks are particularly important where individuals wish to be involved in activities outside the normal operating hours of the vocational service.

• A provider plays a facilitative role in the development of natural support networks – making connections, getting people established and then offering on-going support.
  

• Find out who is present in a person’s life and the roles that they play. Utilise the knowledge and expertise of family members and friends.

• Look for opportunities to connect the person with other people who may be able to offer support at a particular activity. This involves observation, planning and some relationship building. Identify those that the person has a rapport with. Be clear about the type of support a person needs. It might be practical support, e.g. transport to an activity, or it may be moral support, e.g. a friendly and welcoming face at a particular activity. Ensure that the ‘natural support person’ knows who you are, who the service is and how to contact you if they need to.

• Take time to get the person established and comfortable and then withdraw, as appropriate.
  

• Be pro-active about checking in with the person to make sure that the arrangement is working well.