Archbishop endorses Hamara Project
Thursday 10th September 2009
The Archbishop of Canterbury, vice-president of the children's charity Baranardo's, met parents, young people and staff to learn about the work of the Hamara Family Project.
The Archbishop with staff, parents and youths at the Hamara Family Project.
The Archbishop is patron of a wide range of charities, mostly reflecting his particular interests including those involving young people and education. Barnardo's is dedicated to supporting vulnerable children, including those who have suffered from domestic abuse to those with disabilities. They run 400 projects throughout the UK.
The Hamara Family Project started in 1990 and began as a service to provide short family-based breaks for children with disabilities. It provides community-based services to disabled children, young people, (aged up to 19), and their families.
The Archbishop was welcomed by Martin Narey, Chief Executive, and Geoffrey Barnet, Chair of Trustees, who gave a short introduction to the work carried out in the centre.
A Supportive Service
In a small, intimate room at the head office in Walthamstow, the Archbishop listened and engaged in conversation with those involved with the programme. Most parents were with the Early Bird and Early Bird Plus schemes – a National Autistic Society 12 week programme for children aged up to 5 (and 5 - 8 for Plus) who are newly diagnosed with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder).
"It's good because he's mixing with other children who are of the same spectrum as him and it gives us a break as a family as well," explains a mother of a 13 year old son. "The training I've received has been second to none" explains another, whose son is 5.
Eileen Monero's son Jason,14, was sadly diagnosed with a brain tumour which led to loss of sight and regular seizures. Although he was diagnosed in 2006 he remains high spirited and and enjoys outings and activities provided by Hamara. "I've had a lot of support from Colin (staff member), taking Jason out on trips which gives me that little break that I've always wanted! He's quite a character, I'll do anything for him and I thank Hamara a lot for what they've done for him so far."
Stefan Dennison used to be a 'sibling' of Hamara. Now 19, he has chosen to continue with the charity to help others as a volunteer. Being with the charity since the age of 10, Hamara has successfully helped him overcome his fear of going out on his own: "I didn't think I was going to be independent – that was the thing I was scared of, going on buses and being out there in the real world. But now I do a lot of things. I go far places, I go to Liverpool, Blackpool, Birmingham on my own. So if it wasn't for my independence, I wouldn't be where I am...we need to get the word out about Hamara to everybody so they know Hamara is here to help people out there who are in need of help."
Some of the young people are at the age where they are now too old for the programme. A mother of 5 explains, "My 4th child Jessica has Down's Syndrome, she's 18 and she has been using the project for a long, long time and we have been using the Sitting service or Colin's service where she goes out on trips and things like that. She's been very happy and we're going to be very sad because we've got another year left within the project because when she's 19 we won't be able to use Hamara services anymore, but she thoroughly enjoys it and it's been a great help to us all." A father who has been using the service for 20 years is to part with the project once his daughter turns 19, and is thankful for the project "Without the service I don't think I'd be able to manage. Within the borough you have to have a service like this and this is a very, very good service."
The Archbishop values personal contact and engagement with service users of the charities which he supports and finds it enormously helpful to hear of their experiences. In particular he was delighted to hear Hamara has helped children with ASD as it is a condition he has personally researched into from an interest through his friend's involvement with it. "There's a big explosion of concern about it and awareness of it in recent years, and the challenges that there are to schools and institutions to keep up with developing knowledge and awareness of this...so, again, it's particularly helpful to hear about all that."
The Archbishop was grateful for the opportunity to hear their stories and greatly appreciated to all who came.
"I'm really grateful, thank you, all of you. It's really helpful to hear this first hand. I've got an interest in children and young people generally and just finding out what's happening, what the pressure points are, what's available is really, really helpful, especially if I have to talk about these things in public, so that's why it's great to hear what you say."