Voices for Change

Personal profile—Laura Booth

I am a single mum and have a son with additional needs. I have had a family support worker for two years. It was clear that I needed help sooner than I could admit but due to the stigma of having social services involved I was terrified as I thought my children would be taken from me. It took me to have a breakdown before I could accept the help I needed. I was thrilled to be asked to be in this project as it gave me a chance to voice my views about my experience of the family support service.

This film (video 1) documents our project and shows the power of journaling and group work to give people who have lived experience of receiving services a voice. We were a group of mums some of whom had had experience of the child protection system, but all had received family support. We gave feedback on what good family support should look like and how the service could be improved. The project also shows how groupwork can give people the confidence to have a voice. The project included a group of parents from B&NES, the local council, Creativity Works (a local charity) and the University of Bath.

Voices for Change The link to view the film is: https://vimeo.com/uniofbath/voices-for-change

Funding

The Voices for Change Project was jointly funded by the University of Bath’s Public Engagement Unit and Bath & North East Somerset Council.

Author notes