Talk to us!
Our parents group has grown from a starting point of 9 members to over 1,000. The forum is a safe space for you to ask questions, talk about how you are doing, and share experiences with others in the same or similar circumstances to you. It is very important that we are respectful of one another and the group is a wonderful place to find community and allay fears. Through access to the groups, you will also receive notifications of meetings, local groups and residential weekends.
It operates through an email service so you must supply a valid email address, and you can customise your account to receive all emails, a daily digest of a number of emails together, or no emails at all if you would prefer to log in and access the forum online.
As part of the security measures, you will be required to supply us with a telephone number, so that we can call you before we can approve you to join the group. The call will be from a witheld number, to maintain confidentiality.
If you would like to join the parents group you will need to read and agree to follow the rules and code of conduct, plus supply us with a certain amount of personal information so we can verify your identity and make sure that your application is genuine. This will need to be one of the following, from within the last 3 months with your current address, other than current driving licence, or council tax bill which would need to be from the current year:
- Utility bill with your full name and address shown
- Current driving licence with your full name and address shown
- Bank or credit card statement with full name and address shown
- Council tax bill with full name and address shown
- HMRC letter or statement with full name and address shown
We take the safety and security of our groups very seriously, for your protection, and to allow you to post and ask questions with the knowledge that to the best of our abilities, your information is confidential. The information is accessed by members of our moderation team only and destroyed after the application has been checked thoroughly.
Why do we need this?
We have had people trying to access this group for their own reasons, when they are neither parents or carers. This includes men claiming to be widowed mothers with transgender children, individuals with pornographic content linked to their names, journalists, and individuals who do not believe that transgender children and young people exist. Other groups with less security have been infiltrated, and member information then copied and pasted onto the internet for all to see. We apologise if this process seems intrusive, however we believe it is necessary to protect your interests, and try to avoid this happening to Mermaids groups.
To apply, follow this link and complete the form to request to join the group. All of the fields MUST be completed correctly or the application will automatically be refused.
This group is open to parents and carers of gender diverse and/or transgender young people up to and including the age of 19. There is no lower age limit.
Complete online form to join