BBC Children in Need Booster Grant for Breaking Barriers

We are delighted to have received a BBC Children in Need COVID-19 2020 Booster Programme grant of £3,000 to our Breaking Barriers service in Suffolk.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Breaking Barriers practitioners were working with children already suffering from mental health issues, worse school engagement and negative relationships with a parent in prison, and are now feeling the effects of lockdown on top of all this.

Where damaged relationships need to be rebuilt between parents and children due to imprisonment, not being able to visit them takes away this opportunity to spend meaningful time together, and really hinders the development of a positive relationship.

Some children have experienced a real sense of loss not being able to go to school as it is their ‘safe place’, and now cannot access this supportive environment they are used to.

This booster funding from BBC Children in Need will be essential for us now to help these children talk about and understand their feelings at an extremely turbulent time in their lives, and focus on rebuilding relationships with the parents they currently cannot see.

If you would like to read more about our Breaking Barriers service which operates across Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire please visit our Breaking Barriers webpage.

To join us and help make a difference please consider donating to Ormiston Families here.