How your blog could help vulnerable children & families

Blogging to raise awareness and campaign for change is something that BritMums bloggers do well. Here, Clare Bracey from The Children’s Society tells us how bloggers with an interest in finance, mental health or money issues can help vulnerable children and families…

It’s well known that debt and money struggles can have a damaging impact on adults‘ mental health – but until now the impact this can have on children has been largely ignored. Our new research shows that children living in families with problem debt are five times more likely to be unhappy than those in families without problem debt, putting them at risk of developing mental health problems.

Debt causes huge strain on the whole family. I’m a mum myself and I can imagine how hard and stressful it must be to juggle lots of different debts while being bombarded by aggressive letters and intimidating bailiffs. We are determined to put an end to the pressure that debt places on parents and children, and that’s why we’re calling for a Breathing Space scheme which would make a massive difference to families in problem debt – giving them the time and space to get their finances in order and get the mental health support they need.

No child should have to pay the price of debt with their mental health.

That’s where you come in. The Children’s Society is inviting BritMums bloggers to become part of our Debt Trap campaign through its award-winning Blogger Ambassador Programme.

I was taken aback by the difference bloggers made to our Seriously Awkward campaign (which is still running, you’ll see more on that soon!). So, this time we’re looking for bloggers interested in money issues and mental health, who want to use their blog for a good cause and help us get support for vulnerable families and children.

To make sure you have everything you need for blogs on these issues, The Children’s Society will send you an exclusive blogger briefing and you’ll have access to interview opportunities to build your knowledge and events where you can meet experts, decision makers and network with other bloggers.

The first step is easy, you just need to register your interest in joining our Blogger Ambassador Programme and we’ll be in touch.
By supporting the Debt Trap campaign with your blog, you will be helping children like Adam, just one of the young people we work with.

Adam’s story

Adam lived with his mum and two younger siblings. His mum had a low income and had been in debt for a number of years.

He could see how stressed his mum was by money and worried that he was taking too much money from his mum, for things like lunch, when he knew she was trying to save.

Adam was aware that his friends didn’t have to worry about these things.

‘You can’t have everything you want, but like the little things we couldn’t get because of the money situation and my mum having to pay the bills and paying off her debt.’

His mum worked long hours to provide for the family and pay off the debt. This meant that he missed out on activities like football which he loved.

What you can do:

Support our Breathing Space campaign and help families like Adam’s.

Register your interest to join our Blogger Ambassador Programme.

Email your MP asking them to support plans for a breathing space scheme for families.

For more information on The Children’s Society, visit their website.

Home page image: Lopolo via Shutterstock