Ali's was worried about his mum, she hadn't been the same since his dad passed away from covid about a year ago. She didn't socialise with anyone anymore and rarely went out of the house. This put pressure on Ali to do more and it felt unfair, but he didn't say anything to anyone because he wanted to support his mum.
We worked on engaging Ali, his younger sibling and mum, for weeks. The boys were able to attend our HAF2021 summer programme because we built trust with the family and picked them up and dropped them off each day. After a few weeks, we were able to persuade Ali's mum to attend the HAF family cook and eat session, with one of her friends, and she got to chat with other parents and see her children having fun. We also ran a stay and play family session on the same day so Ali's younger brother, aged 5, could have some quality bonding time with his mum, under the guidance of our play worker.
In the last week of the programme, we were in Ali's neighbourhood, and saw him walking with his mum and younger brother. We said hello and he told us they were going to the park. We felt great that the family were having fun together again. We know many families haven't had the time or space to deal with bereavement of close family members. We have been working with families to bring stress levels down so that the underlying trauma of bereavement can be worked through.