Valleys Kids' Covid Response
Valleys Kids support over 3,000 people every week. We are doing things we have never had to do before. The demand has been overwhelming and humbling. From single parent families with 4 children who had no opportunity to leave the children to collect food, through to families with very sick children who were terrified to leave the house and risk bringing infection home with them.
Valleys Kids has been part of the community for over 40 years, but we’ve never seen anything like this.
Our buildings are beginning to reopen, staff are refocussing on trying to return to some kind of ‘normal’ having made superhuman efforts, coping with their own challenges, whilst responding flexibly to the needs of a community in lockdown who struggled and are struggling to overcome anxiety and stress, to make ends meet and feed their families.
The legacy is high levels of anxiety, stress and depression which is affecting the mental health & wellbeing of children, young people and adults across all age groups. Like Long Covid, the impacts on wellbeing, emotional and financial resilience will not be a quick fix in communities which were already high on the deprivation table.
We have always tried to offer what people told us they need. We are committed to continuing to help local people to help themselves overcome the obstacles they face.
Our endeavours during the period of the lockdown, reflects the high levels of need and what we were able to achieve.
Community is Kindness : Together Stronger
- Food parcels for families and kids…feeding over 1000 people each week.
- Regular support for isolated families and older people, shopping, medication, transport, a friendly, listening ear…
- Digital Lifelines: Online support groups, digital youth arts…
We need to secure further support to safeguard this provision into the future.
Please donate if you are able.
