Barnardo’s in call for urgent additional funding

BARNARDO’S Cymru (Wales) has called for urgent extra funding to set up family support hubs in partnership with schools, particularly in areas hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sarah Crawley, director of Barnardo’s Cymru, said: “Schools have a huge role to play in the rebuilding of communities but they will need support to cope with the increased demands on them.

“We believe investment in multi-agency working will be the key to success and want to see a comprehensive package of early intervention and support for not only children but their parents, too.

“It is important that the whole family is helped with emotional wellbeing and resilience.

“At Barnardo’s, we believe that with the right support all children can recover from trauma and work towards a positive future.

“We provide this support in our Beyond the Blue service in Neath Port Talbot and our Family Wellbeing Service in Cardiff, but this sort of help should be available in every local authority in Wales.”

Meanwhile, the charity has launched its latest TV advert in its Believe in Me campaign, highlighting the importance of support services for children and young people who have experienced bereavement, loss or grief.

A generation of children are going to need support to help them cope with the effects of bereavement and loss long after the Covid-19 crisis is over, says the children’s charity.

The charity says many children are facing a new reality after lockdown.

In many cases, they have lost a loved one, lost the chance of opportunities they were about to take up or lost their normal support systems.

In the advert, a computer generated crow symbolises the feelings of loss and grief a young boy experiences from losing his mum, before receiving support from a Barnardo’s counsellor.