Emergency fund helping keep NPT families afloat

Action for Children’s emergency appeal fund is keeping families in the Neath Port Talbot area afloat as lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic continue to hit communities hard.

Leanne Lewis from Port Talbot applied for money from the fund after her husband Matthew was furloughed and the payment of his wages delayed.  Leanne’s oldest son, Kai (17) has cerebral palsy and has attended Action for Children’s NPT Swansea Community Short Breaks to give him support and time to socialise for over 10 years.  He is due to leave the service when he turns 18 at the end of May.

The project works closely with Swansea and NPT councils to support children and young people with disabilities to access community activities (POPS) and provides overnight stays with Family Link Carers in the area.

Leanne said: “My husband has been furloughed and hasn’t been paid for two months so Action for Children provided us with £100 to do a food shop as that was a worry on top of everything else.  We would’ve been grateful for any amount and it was one less thing to worry about that week, so we were able to do a big family shop.

“I was surprised, but so relieved we were eligible for help. The support we had from the Action for Children Emergency Fund took a bit of the pressure off and I was able to get a few extra things in for the children.  Obviously, we’re on a tight budget as we don’t know what’s going to happen, so it was nice put a few treats in for the kids.

“Even though all of us are in the same position that we can’t go anywhere, generally the families who go to Action for Children, life isn’t the same and is that little bit more difficult so any kind of help however big or small is gratefully received.  When you don’t get paid, you can’t give your children what they’re normally used to.  Action for Children has been a massive part of our lives and we’re very grateful.”

The coronavirus pandemic has meant Kai’s normal routine and active social life has been affected with Leanne adding: “When coronavirus hit, everything stopped.  Kai’s life has gone from being very social through school, Action for Children and respite to being stuck at home with us.  A lot of children would be quite happy with that but anyone who knows Kai, knows he loves to be out and about socialising – that’s how Kai is really.

“The first couple of weeks were alright but we are struggling a bit now.  We’re trying to get out as much as we can but that has been mainly sitting in our front garden and neighbours will come past or people will drive by and give us a wave.  Kai loves social interaction so at the moment it’s really difficult and not seeing family too, everything has just stopped.”

To support Action for Children’s emergency coronavirus appeal which will help families cover the cost of the basics, please visit actionforchildren.org.uk, call 0300 123 2112 or text ACTION to 70175 to give £10.