Show Your Support For Families That Really Need it By Voting For Safe Families This April 2019
Safe Families for Children know that every child deserves to thrive, and they recognise that to do this children need to be loved and secure in their own family. The problem stems from the isolation of families who are struggling. It can make their children can feel upset and afraid. Facing life alone is a really hard thing to deal with, and when families feel like there is no one there to help it can create a very scary and uncertain feeling.
This is why Safe Families train and support over 4,000 volunteers from across the UK who are focussed on making a difference with families who may be suffering as well as their local community. They are doing this by offering help and support in times of need.
Safe Families train and support volunteers for the purpose of connecting them with isolated families or those who are at risk of isolation, so that they can begin building sustainible relationships. This brings families the thing that they need in their darker moments, including hope.
How Volunteers are Helping
The support of volunteers means that isolated families are being given the opportunity to reconnected to the community around them.
Chloe is an example of this: Chloe is an 8-year-old girl. She loves her family and wants to live in a happy and loving home. The problem is her mum misuses drugs, and although Chloe loves her mum, she knows that it is not safe for her to live with her mum. Social services also feel that it isn’t safe for Chloe or her 2 sisters, so they ask her dad to care for them. The problem is that dad had not been that involved in his daughters lives and he doesn't think that he will be able to care for them properly. He wonders whether they would be better off being in care. However, he also knows that Chloe wants to live with her family who she loves. This is when dad meets Safe Families, who explain that there are people in the community that would love to support him and his girls. we know he can be a good dad with some support.
So together we’ve come up with a plan:
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A couple now has the 3 girls to stay once a month. The girls love going to stay as they are able to bake and play at the park. This also gives dad a break, so he can recharge his batteries.
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Another couple visits the family in their home so that dad is able to go out for a pint with the male volunteer and chat about how things are going and the challenges they are facing.
The dad has said: “…the support has been excellent and initially I didn’t think I had the capacity to care for my girls, however I have become stronger, well and confident. I know there are people who can help me, and that I can be a good dad.”
If you would like to find out more about how you can be involved, or to hear stories of families that have been impacted by the support from their community then please visit our website ww.safefamiliesforchildren.com