We'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who'se supported us over the first full year of operation (hooray!). But while many of us will be taking a hard-earned break and celebrating religious festivals, for others the mid-winter period can be bleak and lonely. Fortunatley there are a range of local support services that can help people get through.

Violence in the family

According to some surveys, as many as 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. If you need support in relation to dometic abuse, you can call the helplines on this page.

Parents 

The Oxfordshire County Council web-site now has a really good, detailed section of information for parents. This includes the dates of school holidays. If you live in Oxford, our local paper has a good events page with lots of free things to do.

Homelessness

Midwinter can be a particularly difficult time to be homeless. You can find a lot of helpful links about the supports that might be available to you here.

Drug and alcohol misuse

A lot of people go a bit over-the-top at this time of year, so for people who are trying to remain drug free (or to use drugs or alcohol in a safe way), it can be a difficult period. You can find a list of Oxfordshire drug services here and alcohol services here.

Mental health

Some people find their mood is affected directly by the lack of sunshine at this time of year, but it's also a particularly stressful time when more people feel lonely, isolated and depressed. The Oxfordshire Mental Health Information Service can help link you in to supports. Oxford Samaritans offer a sympathetic, non-judgmental ear to people in need.

There are also links to a wide range of other support in the links area of this site.