Send a package “With Love

‘With Love’ packages are a concept that my mum and I have developed for a cause very close to our hearts. Following a lived experience of fleeing domestic abuse (DV) resulting in temporary homelessness, we put our heads together to think about ways in which we can support displaced families to remain hopeful during times of extreme adversity.

Background:

Almost 20 years ago, my mum with my two sisters and I were welcomed by a women’s refuge who took us in temporarily despite having unsuitable space. We were lucky enough to then be re-homed much further north in the UK in another women’s refuge in which we resided for around a year before being able to re-build our lives in a family home. My fantastic mum was fortunate and resourceful enough to have encouraged us to each pack one favourite toy in a bag that day when we left. Unfortunately, many displaced families often flee their homes without the capacity to pack any belongings for themselves or their children, leaving them completely homeless and with a fragile sense of identity.

Recalling how at 5 years old my favourite purple dinosaur (Barney!) was everything to me during such an unprecedented time, has inspired us to create toy packages for a large cohort of children who are unfortunately deemed homeless, every single day. Having nothing to their name paired with trauma through exposure to adverse early experiences can impact drastically upon a child’s cognitive and emotional development. There is endless research that highlights the link between child poverty and poor outcomes later in life due to reduced parental capacity arising from stress and reduced levels of self-esteem (please visit Child Poverty Action Group for more information). Furthermore, there are equally extrnsive studies that highlight the role that social play can have as a direct route to healing children from traumatic experiences.

Our packages:

Each package is made With Love, from our family to another, and contains a gender neutral handmade bag, a pre-loved Teddy Bear, a few role play items, connection bracelet and a notebook and pencil. Each teddy reflects a unique child in which they can relate to having navigated their own way through a complex family home life (in the teddy’s case, also a charity shop, cleaning processes and quarantine for COVID safety!).

Our ethos is that every child should feel special, safe and worthy; whilst each parent should be given the opportunity to experience connectedness and hope for their family. Each package made With Love costs a respectful £3-4 to sustainably assemble, before making its way to a homeless child. With every donation, we hope to produce more packages to bring love and hope to some of the UK’s most vulnerable families, as they commence their upward journey towards a stable family life.

Destinations:

So far, we have secured connections with the brilliant Care 4 Calais charity who support displaced families that are seeking asylum in the UK – this will be out first donation point and we are also currently in talks with several women’s Refuges’ who are exploring ways in which they can safely accept our packages. Any way in which you can help our crusade will be incredibly appreciated and as well as financial donations, we are also keen to collect any pre-loved Teddy Bears who are ready for a new home. We remain open to suggestions about where to donate - so if you know of any organisations supporting homeless families, be sure to notify us. Our goal is to bring love to as many children and families that we can.Send