Get Support
We provide essential items for babies and children through a referral system, working with professionals who support families across Brighton & Hove.
To ensure our families are fully supported in accessing all the services they may need, we work on a referral basis with trusted professionals already working with the family.
This could be health and social care professionals (GPs, health visitors, midwives, social workers, teachers, council services), local and community organisations (children’s centres, food banks, charities, faith groups), schools, or another professional or government organisation or charity.
If you are one of these professionals, please complete our registration form before submitting a referral.
I want to thank you for all the items you brought for us yesterday through Pelican Parcels. I want you to know that we truly appreciate your kindness with all of our hearts. These items will really be of so much help to our family.
How can we help?
I need support for a family
Need help for a child or family you know? We're here to support families through our network of referral partners. As we don't accept direct requests, a referral will need to come from a professional who is supporting the family.
You can speak to a professional, such as:
- A school or nursery
- A health visitor or midwife
- A social worker
- A children’s centre or local community organisation
I'm a professional making a referral
If you are supporting a family, you can refer them to Pelican Parcels using our online referral system.
Before you refer, you will need:
- A valid work email address
- To be registered with Pelican Parcels
- To collect items from our warehouse in Hove
Our service is free of charge and there is no assessment criteria.
How to get a referral
If you are a family in need of support, or know someone who is, please speak to a professional already working with you.
This could be:
- Your child’s school or nursery
- A health visitor or midwife
- A social worker
- A local children’s centre or community organisation
If you are not currently working with a professional, you can contact Brighton & Hove City Council’s Front Door for Families service, who can help connect you with the support you need.
Make a referral
If you are a professional supporting a family, you can submit a referral through our online system.
Before you begin
Please read our partner guidelines before submitting a referral. They cover how to avoid duplicate requests, what information to gather, collection arrangements and expected timeframes.
Read the Referral Partner Guidelines
To help us work smoothly together and ensure that we can successfully fulfil your referral requests, please follow the guidance below when making referrals.
Avoiding duplicate referrals
Before submitting a referral, please check whether another service is already supporting the family and may also be planning to refer. When possible, coordinate with other services to agree who will submit the request. This helps us prevent duplicates and ensures fair distribution of items.
Information gathering
Please gather all relevant information needed to make a strong referral, including the family’s current circumstances. As we cannot supply every family in the city, we rely on your professional insight to identify those most in need. The more accurate the information, the better we can help.
Careful item selection
Where possible, please complete the form with the family so you can jointly identify their most essential items. We can get short of some items so, as much as we’d like to supply all newborn items to each family expecting a baby, to make sure the items go to the most needy families we ask that only items selected as ‘needed’ are requested.
Order timeframes
We always strive to prepare orders as quickly as possible. However, demand is continually increasing, and we often have a large number of pending requests. Checking, sorting, and fulfilling orders with our volunteer team takes time, so we appreciate your patience and understanding.
Collection of items
If you or your service cannot collect items, please explore whether another professional involved with the family can collect on your behalf. This helps families receive support more quickly and frees essential space in our warehouse.
Collection details:
All collections take place to the right side of the building, where signage is clearly visible. This area is shared with the neighbouring garage.
- Drive up the right-hand side of the building.
- Look for the grey shutters on your left and ring the bell.
- A volunteer will assist you as soon as possible.
- Provide your reference number so your parcels can be retrieved.
- After collection, you may reverse out or, in coordination with the garage, turn around if space allows.
A short collection route video is also available for guidance: Pelican Parcels: how to collect a referral
Delivery requests
Please consider whether the items you are requesting will fit in your vehicle or the vehicle of someone supporting the family. Deliveries are extremely limited. If a delivery is essential, please talk to us first so we can assess availability.
Thank you. Your cooperation and support make a tremendous difference.
Start referral
To make a referral, you must:
- Be a professional working within an organisation
- Provide your organisation name and role
- Use a valid work email address
- Be registered with Pelican Parcels
Answer the first question below and the rest of the form will appear.
How our referral system works
To ensure families receive the right support, we work through a trusted referral network of professionals already involved in their care.
This includes:
- Health and social care professionals (GPs, midwives, health visitors, social workers)
- Schools and early years settings
- Children’s centres and community organisations
- Charities, faith groups and local authority services
Once registered, professionals can submit referrals and request the items needed for each family.
Other support services
If you or a family you are supporting need additional help, the following services may be useful, as they can make an easy referral to Pelican Parcels.
SPIN (Single Parent Information Network)
Charity providing information to single parent families.
If you are still unsure how to get support, please contact us.