Celebration, Courage and Connection
We wish that we could take all of you on a whistle-stop tour through all that helps make the SMILE community of lone parent families so life-giving:
…to the Lone Parent Fair where 200 parents and children just love to be pampered, play games, have their faces painted, eat hot dogs, get advice, have a family photo, swap clothes, toys and stories… and feel special.
…to the new regular gathering at the Junction Sports & Leisure Centre where over 20 families can exercise in an affordable way and in safety with other parents, while their children have soft play, and can talk with a Link Worker if they need to – thank you to the YMCA.
…to the difficult times when our Link Workers, Donna and Danni, take time with parents who are trying to find a way through; simply having someone who can help make the connection to further support, lifts the feeling of being utterly alone.
…to the parents and children meeting a volunteer couple (trained by Safe Families) who have committed to “being there” for the family as they rebuild their lives.
…to the joy of the Gifting Days, when kids can choose a gift for their parent, and then creatively wrap it with fabulous designs on brown paper.
…to the close connections at the SMILE coffee group, providing a safe space for parents to be known and have a sense of belonging without feeling judged.
…to the little moments on the Facebook group where someone courageously asks for help – “I need a home hairdresser” and other parents come through with “I’m trained – I’ll come”.
The community is growing – thank you to all who make that possible.
Racheal, Lucy, Donna & Danni
The SMILE Team
73%
Of families surveyed said that SMILE are supporting them with the 3 main challenges they are facing as lone parents
200
Parents and children at our SMILE Lone Parent Family Fair
39%
SMILE families have also received support through Poole Foodbank+
447
Individuals receive online support through the SMILE Facebook group
42%
Children supported by SMILE are young carers
37%
Of SMILE families have a child who is struggling due to SEN (Special Educational Needs)
Mark’s Story
After his partner passed away, Mark* lost his tenancy and ended up in emergency accommodation with his one year old son.
The SMILE team connected Mark with Faithworks Homelessness team and Poole Foodbank+, to help secure council accommodation and food.
At one coffee morning, the SMILE community came together to celebrate his birthday; by making a cake and card for his son to give him – cue, massive surprise and not a dry eye!
Through a partnership with Safe Families, Mark now has volunteers who are able to have his son overnight allowing him a rare night out to catch up with friends and simply be “Mark” for the night. The volunteers built up such a good friendship that they will continue to see each other.
In addition, Mark is one of the first to complete our new Barista training course and is eager to gain further experience.
*Name changed to protect identity
“I now have people in my life I can go to offload my emotions, get that ‘Mum hug’ or reality check that’s needed.
They help me to organise myself to take the next step forward rather than get stuck. I can definitely say I never feel alone anymore.” – SMILE Mum
SMILE Groups & Activities
SMILE provides support, activities and friendship for single parent families. Our goal is to create a community of families who support each other and live everyday to the full.
SMILE provides three types of support: SMILE VIP sessions with other lone parent families, SMILE PLUS activities with other community groups in churches and SMILE CONNECT an online community.
Looking Forwards and Thank You
The challenges for lone parents are familiar to everyone, such as waiting lists for GP and hospital appointments, the cost of living crisis, housing issues and much more.
Lone parent families face all these on top of the stress of parenting alone and a third of SMILE parents have the added pressure of having no respite from being the sole carer. Statistically a third of lone parents in the UK are disabled (compared to 15% couple parents) and 43% of single parents report lows self-esteem (compared to 30% of couple parents)*.
At SMILE we continue to provide safe spaces for lone parents to meet others in a similar position, so that as a community, we can encourage and empower each other to keep going and make positive choices. We also continue to build links to enable families to connect to the support needed when crisis strikes.
We love our partnership with charity Safe Families. It is having a huge impact, made possible by local volunteers and funded through The National Lottery.
We will always be grateful for those who make all this possible:
- To those who give up their time to help
- To those who make sure we have the money we need: both individuals and grant-funders
- To those who share their space, especially local churches
- And to those who pray and cheer us on… Thank you!
*Statistics from Gingerbread.org.uk
Here at Faithworks we commit ourselves to take as much time as needed to help an individual get to a place of resilience – it may take over a year to help someone get free from the huge burden of debt.
We won’t stand still – we try new things and look for better ways to do what we do: we have opened a new venue for our Homelessness work; and started new training courses.
We will stay true to our values of being Welcoming, Alongside, Trusted, Practical and Empowering. And we’ll keep trusting God every step of the way.
We need your support. We are looking for individual donors to commit to giving £20 per month for 20 months to help write the next chapter of the Faithworks story. Will you join us by setting up a standing order?
Regular donations help us to plan for long-term growth
Regular giving can be set up using our bank details
Bank: CAF bank
Sort Code: 40-52-40
Account number: 00035371
Alternatively follow the link below.
Gift Aid: if you are a tax payer, you can increase your donation by 25% at no extra cost to yourself.
