Siblings' Project

beat's Project for Siblings

Welcome to the new page dedicated to beat's Project for Siblings!

This page will provide you with information about the project we are currently running to create new resources for the brothers and sisters of people with eating disorders. There will be information about what we have already done, what we are working on at the moment, and what we hope to do in the future of the project.

Is this Project for ME?

Many siblings tell us that they feel confused, isolated and very anxious when their brother or sister has an eating disorder. If your brother or sister is suffering from an eating disorder this project aims to provide you with information and ideas so that you can better understand what you sibling is going through and can help to support them. You may be older or younger than your sibling, a child or an adult, and you may live with your sibling or live away from them. Regardless of your situation, the information this project will provide should still be useful for you.

The Plan!

The siblings’ project has been funded for two years, during which time we hope to create:

• Three new leaflets for siblings
• New information pages specifically for siblings on the beat website

This page will be updated as the project progresses, so you will always know what stage of the project we are at!

Siblings’ Project Timeline:

August 2008:                The project begins!

September 2008:        Questionnaire about siblings’ needs and services

October 2008:              Analysis of questionnaire findings*

November 2008:          Research siblings’ experiences and existing services

December 2008:          Live chat with siblings about leaflet content and design

January 2009:              Plan for leaflet content and design

February 2009:             Work on drafting of adult siblings' leaflet

March 2009:                  Completed draft of adult siblings' leaflet

April 2009:                     Completed drafts of teenage and child leaflets

May 2009:                      Final drafts of all three leaflets were completed and

                                         sent to design, plans for webpages began

June 2009:                    Work on design of leaflets

July 2009:                      Created an extra leaflet for very young children, and

                                         worked on some new web pages for Young Carers

August 2009:                Work continued on web pages for Young Carers

September 2009:        Worked on downloadable resources for Young Carers

October 2009:              Completed new web pages for Young Carers

*For more information about the findings of the questionnaires, please click here!

The Future!

Now that the leaflets and web pages are complete, work will continue on improving and updating the web pages, and maintaining our support for young carers.

What can YOU do?

We have a facebook group especially for siblings.

We are also working on creating a new resource for schools to use to ensure they can help support students with eating disorders and their families. In order to make sure this resource is as useful as possible, we would love your input! Contact Amira at a.raouf@b-eat.co.uk to share your ideas.

There is also a project running specifically for the carers of people with an eating disorder, to find out more please click here! By 'carer' we mean anyone who provides help and support to someone with an eating disorder. This could mean a parent, partner, child, colleague, teacher, other relative, or simply a good friend. Many siblings also take on the role of caring for someone, and so you may be classed as a carer too!