“One particular item – a stylish bum bag – quickly became Leila’s favourite. It helped her feel confident and fashionable, while also providing a practical way to keep her glucose monitor close at hand. Each time she was visited afterwards, she proudly wore it.”

Leila*, aged 12, arrived in the UK with her parents after seeking asylum from Iran. Living in asylum accommodation, the family were adjusting to an unfamiliar environment while managing significant health and wellbeing challenges.

Leila lives with Type 1 Diabetes and uses a continuous glucose monitor to manage her condition. Alongside the practical demands of her health needs, Leila, aged 12, arrived in the UK with her parents after seeking asylum from Iran. Living in asylum accommodation, the family were adjusting to an unfamiliar environment while managing significant health and wellbeing challenges.

Leila lives with Type 1 Diabetes and uses a continuous glucose monitor to manage her condition. Alongside the practical demands of her health needs, the disruption of displacement and limited opportunities for everyday childhood activities began to affect her confidence and emotional wellbeing. She spent long periods indoors, with few personal belongings or activities to bring comfort or joy.

Working in partnership with Alliance for Better Care, we were able to provide vital support at a crucial time. Through the provision of high-quality, pre-loved clothes, toys and activity sets, Leila received age-appropriate items that reflected her interests and helped her feel more like herself. This support had an immediate and visible impact on her confidence and mood, playing an important role in improving her wellbeing during a period of uncertainty and transition. By restoring comfort, confidence and a sense of normality, it helped her feel valued, supported and cared for when it mattered most.

* Names changed to protect privacy.

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Our volunteers set to work sorting through the unisex clothing we had in stock to make just the right clothes pack for this young person. We aim to be as gender-inclusive as possible, and we receive a lot of requests for gender-neutral clothing. Thanks to the donations we receive, we usually have a good stock of clothes that could be appreciated by people of any gender, but we especially appreciate it when our referral partners communicate exactly what the young person would and wouldn’t like to wear so we can meet their needs as closely as possible. We also appreciate the input we receive from our teenage volunteers who are well-placed to advise on clothing preferences for their generation and help us put clothing packs together.

We’re pleased to report that on this occasion the pack prepared by our Team Stork volunteers really hit the spot! When the clothes pack was handed over, Mum described how it had felt like Christmas. Her teenager was so pleased with the clothes that nearly all of them are being repeatedly worn and any items which don’t quite match their taste are being passed on to their gender-neutral friends.

Mum sent her thanks: “I was overwhelmed by the choice and styles that you were able to provide. You got it so right in terms of fluid style.”

Getting it right for this teenager was especially important knowing that things had been difficult for them recently. Their Grandad had passed away, and the family had been forced to downsize to a flat when their rented house had become unaffordable due to rent increases. Because of this unplanned move, they had to rehome their family pets. These factors were having an impact on the mental health of everyone in the family, so we also included some age-appropriate self-care packs to give all the family members a pick-me-up. These were equally well-received.

Gaynor later got in touch with us to ask about making another referral for this teenager…

She told us: “They loved the clothes and haven’t stopped alternating between the different outfits. In fact, they’ve asked if it’s possible to place another order for the next size up please because they liked them so much. At first they didn’t know what to expect, but now they do, they can’t wait.”

We’re grateful for all the clothing donations we receive – those that fall into a more obvious gender category and those that don’t. We know that families appreciate both, and we’re here to give them a choice, something we know can be stripped away when experiencing poverty. This choice becomes more and more important for children as they get older, and for teenagers, the clothes they wear help them to express their identity. As an organisation that supports children right up to the age of 16, we’re committed to offering teenagers access to the right clothing for them – something they can feel confident and comfortable in so they can be themselves.

The post They love their new wardrobe appeared first on Stripey Stork.

We spoke to a Mum recently who first encountered Stripey Stork at a cost of living event run by a local family centre. There she was given two of our age-specific activity packs, made by our wonderful volunteer team, which are filled with a selection of games, stationery, crafts, self-care items and activities to keep young minds busy.

This Mum is a single parent to a primary-age son and a teenage daughter. Her daughter, who lives with ASD and anxiety, is currently learning at home while she waits for a suitable school place to come up. Her home-learning schedule involves a lot of drawing, colouring, mindfulness and self-regulation, to avoid overload.  Whilst they are at home together every day, facing increasing bills for heating and food, Mum supports her daughter with creative ways of managing worry that they’ve learned along the way. Despite their efforts, being away from friends and peers can be very isolating, so the young girl was delighted to find the activity pack we provided was full of many of the exact things she loves to do, which made her feel cared for, and understood.

“It was like it was made for me!,” she told us.

Her home tutor, who watched her unpack it, said the pack was ‘perfect’ and would really help support her learning.

A random act of kindness

Seeing what an impact this unexpected gift had on her daughter, this Mum reached out to us to let us know. She said that it was clear to her and to both of her children that the packs were made with love.

“Their eyes lit up. They’d never had something given to them where it was so clear, someone had really thought about what THEY need.”

For their Mum, it was also an unexpected lift, “Like a random act of kindness that day. It was unexpected, I didn’t know there was a service that gave out things like that. It made me feel like… Yes, this is going to really help me.”

Her younger son also enjoyed exploring his pack. He isn’t a fan of puzzles, his Mum said, so when he discovered one of those in the bag, he chose to pass that on to a neighbour who has been unwell and in and out of hospital recently. We loved hearing about his decision to ‘pay it forward’ with his own act of kindness.

The confidence to ask for help

As a result of this Mum reaching out, we have been able to give her more information about the full extent of the support available from Stripey Stork, and how to access it. She has been worrying about the rising cost of living, and how it is going to affect her children, so it’s a relief to know there are places she can turn for help with clothing and school supplies as the children grow.

“I used to be able to keep a little money aside for emergencies. That doesn’t happen now. The gas and electric keep going off, and everything costs more. It’s so hard to find enough money for what the kids need.”

It can be difficult to ask for help for your family, or to explain the extent of the challenges you are facing.

“It’s especially hard in Surrey,” this Mum told us, “because it’s thought of as quite an affluent area.”

This research on child poverty in Surrey shows that the impression of Surrey as an ‘affluent county’ is not the lived reality for many children and families. Our own work, and the stories we hear, confirm this, see our cost of living page for feedback from our referral partners and supported families.

We also know that with current cost of living rises many families who had previously managed financially, are now finding that ends no longer meet. It can be hard to know where to start to get help when you are not already receiving support from health or social care professionals.  See our resources pages for families and professionals which categorises and lists the different types of support available.

We’re glad to see that knowing more about Stripey Stork, and seeing the kind of high-quality, thoughtful and practical items that we can provide, has given this Mum the confidence to seek a further referral for other items that her family needs. We’re also grateful for all the many partners we work with who are out in the community letting families know that we are there for them.

Learning from our community

Not only has this Mum given us some welcome feedback on our service, but her daughter has also offered us her thoughts on the items we give out to teens, which is an area of our service we are putting a lot of energy into developing. We are especially keen to understand how best we can support teenagers struggling with isolation, poor mental health, and additional learning needs.

We’re grateful to have the opportunity to do this through feedback and input from families who are willing to give their time and share their experiences, and we look forward to reporting more on how this offer has changed as a result of input from this family, and others.

Do you have a family feedback story to share? Get in touch with us at info@stripeystork.org.uk.

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