29
Leathersellers’ Review 2024–2025
EARLY YEARS GRANTS PROGRAMME Supporting Families from the Start
including illness, financial worries or because the parent doesn’t have the support of family and friends. “If a mum is in a vulnerable position, stuck in a situation with no help or support, that affects the development of a child,” says Kelly. “When I first met Mary, she wasn’t in a good place. I was able to encourage her and share parts of my own experience. I’d say to her, ‘Look, I’ve felt like you before, and this is where I am now, helping you. It’s not going to be like this forever.’” Mary was introduced to Home-Start by her health visitor. Her baby, Bea*, turned one in August 2025 and she has a 14-year-old daughter who has special educational needs. “I’m a lone parent. I was lonely and bored,” says Mary. “A lot of things were going on for me. When the health visitor said she could introduce me to Home-Start, I told her, ‘I don’t mind, if it’s going to be of help to me’. And thank God she did.” A Home-Start family support coordinator matches volunteers like Kelly with families like Mary’s. They decide together what support is needed, and help parents to build the skills and confidence required to advocate for themselves. Mary and Kelly spent time getting to know each other. They went for walks and, together, made Mary and her children appointments with the GP and dentist – things that she had found difficult to do on her own. Now they’re visiting children’s centres to find somewhere that Mary and Bea will both enjoy attending. “Getting out has been good,” says Kelly. “Bea has really come out of herself being around other children. She’s enjoying the sensory stimulation; I can see she’s really growing.” Kelly has also been encouraging Mary to play more with Bea when they’re at home together. She’s brought round a bag of sensory toys and books provided by Home-Start. “We do fun things together with the children, including a lot of modelling play**. This helps Mary when I’m not there,” says Kelly. “She interacts with the children differently now. All Mary wanted was for her children to be happy and settled – what we all want for our children.” Mary thinks that Kelly’s support has made a huge difference to her family. “It feels good to see how Bea has changed. And I feel so relaxed now,” she says. “Kelly brought me out of the shell where I was. In the future I’d like to learn to help others, to give back. Because Kelly really helped me.”
Opposite, left to right: Early years practitioner at Base Zero nursery in Lewisham; MammaKind team members sorting clothes for the baby bank; Home-Start volunteer with mum and baby
Research shows that the first 1,001 days of a child’s life have a fundamental impact on their future. Funded by a joint initiative between The Leathersellers’ Foundation and Merchant Taylors’ Foundation, meet the organisations making sure that more families in south-east London get the support they need during this critical time.
“I t’s so nice to see Mary* laugh,” says Kelly*, Kelly is a volunteer at the family support charity Home-Start. She and Mary are part of a programme in Lewisham where trained volunteers provide emotional and practical help to families with children under five, who are having difficulties with managing parenting. This could be for any of a number of reasons, “because when I first met her, she cried a lot. Seeing her with her baby, smiling like this, makes me feel really fulfilled.”
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator