3rd August 2013
The NSPCC is concerned that many babies in the UK are growing up without a stable home. Some of these babies are in families that are officially homeless and living in temporary accommodation. Others are in families that are under the radar – possibly moving between families, friends and rented accommodation without a secure place to stay.
We know that babies need a safe environment and sensitive caregiving in order to thrive, but this can be very hard for families to achieve if they do not have a proper home. Therefore we want to raise awareness of this issue and campaign for change.
The NSPCC is working with other organisations including the Anna Freud Centre and Shelter to understand the situation of babies in homeless families. We will be sharing our learning from this research, and it will inform future work to lobby for better services and support for these families.
We know that Health Visitors are sometimes the only professionals to have regular contact with homeless families, and that, in your work, you see first-hand the impact of homelessness and parents and babies. Therefore we would like to hear about your experiences.
If this is an issue that has touched your work, please come and tell us more. We will be running a focus group for health visitors on the morning of Friday 13th September in Camden, and would love it if you could come along and share your insights into this issue. If you want to come, please email Sally Hogg on [email protected].
If you are not able to attend this group, please email Sally with your thoughts and insights.
