Contact a Family have been looking for new and exciting ways to get parents of disabled children together in an effort to build a supportive community where advice and experiences can be shared among like-minded people.

Whilst many of us enjoy physically getting together over a cup of tea to talk and share amongst friends, the internet offers a great alternative way to do that. And this might be hugely important if you’re isolated or struggle to get out because of things like money problems or having a disability which makes it difficult to get around.

What is Second Life?

One of the highly innovative internet trends we are using is called Second Life. This is a social, 3D virtual world where you can interact with information and individuals as you would on the internet, but through the use of a character (known as an ‘avatar’) exploring his/her surroundings. Think of it as a video game, but instead of throwing fireballs at unnecessarily surly demon-dragons, you are walking (or flying) around talking to people in a vast number of virtual communities that can be used to recreate real life societies or a fantasy society. For more info, visit http://secondlife.com/whatis/

Contact a Family Using Second Life to Connect Parents

We have created an advisory drop-in centre for parents with disabled children, where you can access our most recent publications on topics ranging from family matters to financial issues, meet and chat with other parents in addition to receiving guidance from Advisor Somerflek (virtual advisor and permanent resident).

Second Life has been used in a wide variety of ways, for example, comedian Jimmy Carr performed a virtual comedy set in-world, whilst the American Cancer Society raised $118,000 by holding a virtual Relay for Life event. Members of the US Congress met at virtual Capitol Hill to discuss major political initiatives and over in Spain, health authorities have launched a virtual office to help young people too embarrassed to speak to a doctor about STD’s and drug related issues.

Get a Second Life

Second Life runs through a free downloadable program that can be found on their website http://secondlife.com/

You’ll need an email address to create your avatar account and a bit of patience to get comfortable moving around in-world (they give you a tutorial if you’re a newbie, so don’t panic!)

Once you've installed the software and started an avatar, teleport directly to our office by visitnig the following link: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aloft%20... or by using your map to teleport to Aloft Nonprofit Island 21.41.23 where you can have a chat with Advisor Somerflek who can guide you through the in-world and show you what the office offers.

Good luck and hope to see you in-world!