Dear MN-ers
Thank you so much for your fantastic messages of support. We are blown away by the passionate response on Mumsnet and Twitter to the news of Naomi House's closure and by the generosity of your bloggers' offers. I know that Mumsnet has a lot of impact politically and socially, so feel very proud to have you notice our plight and get behind us!
I've attached some further info on our charity and on Naomi House and some stories from 2 of the mums we support. In short, Naomi House is definitely closing, due to more complex financial difficulties than The Guardian's cuts article may have implied, but One25 is committed to continue helping over 300 women and their families in Bristol through our other services: night outreach, drop-in centre and specialist caseworkers. We need your support to help:
?mums who have left Naomi House or whom we supported in the community to stay off the streets, learn parenting and life skills and keep their children
?pregnant women who desperately need our help to leave their damaging streets lifestyle in time to keep their baby safely
?women who's children have been taken into care, to escape the streets, drugs, etc and to be reunited with their children, either getting them back in their care or back in regular positive contact
?women who are not yet mums to escape the streets, get off drugs, etc and then be supported in becoming the best mums they can be - helping them with their own issues of childhood abuse (nearly all of our beneficiaries suffered abuse, particularly sexual abuse as children, many were taken into care), boosting their self-esteem and breaking down barriers such as stigma so they can access community support e.g. mums and tots groups, education with creche facilities, etc
?children who come to our mums and kids Christmas parties, summer outing (for many their only trips out of Bristol) and are reunited with their mums, grandmothers, etc and kept safe
One of the mums we support with parenting told us 'I'm working so hard to be the best parent I can be now. I love playing with my daughter, teaching her things - she's so bright. I've got routine, support and guidance but if I didn't have you I wouldn't have been able to do it. It's so important to know she's going to grow up and thrive and we can spend the rest of our lives together. Now I have the right training, I know I can do it'
We would absolutely love to have your support in raising donations to support our work. Our work with this most marginalised, vulnerable group of women costs around £540,000 a year to run and saves many lives. While the number of women we support to escape the streets is increasing and our work with women and their families in recovery is ever on the up, we are facing an increasing struggle to raise enough money to keep this vital work with women and their families going
?If you could flag up to the mums our online giving page or to send cheques to One25 at the address below to support our work that would be incredible
?Fundraising events - we would love to talk with you about this. Some groups do clothes swops, auctions, garden parties, etc. One mums group in Bristol raised a lot with a dinner and dance do recently for us which was incredible. We can give full support with this
?Campaigning - we would love to use your political and social clout to improve the lot of pregnant women, mums and would-be mums in our community. We also strive to put their needs on the agenda of politicians, commissioners and organisations locally who could improve access issues and the quality of services to this group.
Thanks so much for your support.
Contact details to follow!