Print
this page
Email
this page Newsletters - Urban Families
Scotland - Hamilton (a large town near Glasgow)
“Thank you… I would never have done it if it weren’t for you! You have made me see sense and helped me overcome my fear of not meeting him. You have played a big part of my life.” “The parent group helped…I know what to do now.”
These are just two comments from clients of a service which began when St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Hamilton began to listen to its local community. Head teachers at two local primary schools were concerned that some children, and their class teachers, were being overwhelmed by serious family problems. The plea was for a place, and skilled staff, where families and children could work through their problems with holistic and intensive support over many months.
The people of the church rallied to decorate and refurbish a former Caretaker’s apartment near the church hall to create office space and excellent facilities, providing a pleasant environment; a neutral space for children. After much fundraising, two aspects of work were developed.
First, in 2000, a Contact Centre was created for children to meet their non-resident parent. Run by volunteers from St Mary’s, this project has enabled children in the midst of family dispute and broken relationships to be supported and helped to build a lasting relationship with the parent.
Secondly, a partnership was formed with the children and family charity Circle Scotland to create family/school liaison work. It was also important to have the close co-operation of the local education authority and children’s services.
Within three years, a well-respected local service has developed, enabling family/school liaison with two secondary schools and their local primary schools. The work based at St Mary’s is key to improving opportunities for disadvantaged families; for children at risk of school exclusion; children experiencing neglect, physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse; children and families affected by parental drug and alcohol misuse. It has also helped fathers who shun other services, and the project is currently looking at how to engage with workforce development for parents and esteem-building with older teenagers through a mentoring programme.
Partnership with the voluntary sector and public sector is an opportunity for the local church to develop respected services for the community. In the midst of relationships that have lost trust, and where reconciliation is needed for a child to feel progress and new hope, the Church (building and community) can offer a different environment from the social work or voluntary sector. Often, the Church and Christianity is an unknown to many of these families with profound needs, apart from cultural preconceptions and prejudices. Here, sectarianism is a real problem. This project has offered something different because more time is given to working out the many complex problems that interact within a family.
There has been a new social and political environment in the past decade for such valuable work to be part of an integrated service. The challenge, as always, is to make sure that funding follows this coordinated approach. The cost-benefit analysis indicates that the volunteers a church provides, together with a professional service offering intensive work in its local premises, can prevent major cost for the future in terms of crime prevention, as well as creating many health and welfare savings.
Our intention is to make the church a resource for families in difficult social circumstances and allow the work to speak about the value of a living faith.
Top
