The Beatles and two football clubs – Lambanana and the River Mersey. Which city? Liverpool of course!
Liverpool has been voted as one of the UK’s friendliest cities and is now my home. When I first arrived 30 years ago, I could hardly understand the first person I talked to at a bus-stop (!) but Liverpool has a habit of working its way into your heart. Not just Liverpool, mind; the whole region of Merseyside. We can boast of spectacular music, arts, history, sport, theatre, architecture, faith, and a sense of community that few other regions rival.
Yet the high highs can mask some low lows. We have many needs as a region and we also have amazing people joining together to help support those who need it.
I’ve been working with Kids Matter for the past two months. My job is to link with local churches and charities, some of which will partner with us to run Kids Matter programmes (community-led parenting programmes that help reduce the impact of poverty on children).
We are really fortunate to be partnering with Imagine If, a charity (based in Wavertree, Liverpool) involved with different aspects of the community. It’s been my privilege to get to know the team there.
In an unassuming brown bricked building, you’ll find a rabbit-warren of rooms and offices filled with some of the most inspiring people you could choose to meet. It’s always hard to be new, and yet I’ve been met with incredible warmth and kindness from my Imagine If co-workers. The first day, one woman ran ahead of me into my office space to place a card of welcome and some delicious goodies on my desk. Her effervescent smile matched only by her seemingly limitless warmth was a welcome first impression to Imagine If.
As I have spent these first few weeks getting to know my lovely Kids Matter team who tend to meet and work online because we live across different parts of the UK, it’s also been an eye-opening experience to watch the local Imagine If team tirelessly find solutions to support and care for those who they spend time with in our local community.
The team’s ‘Scouse’ sense of humour and bravado is strong; their tenacity is palpable. Their capacity to care and creatively solve some of the everyday challenges is laudable and their honesty, compassion, and resilience set them apart.
I can truthfully say that whilst finding it a challenge to get to know two teams at once, I’m the richer for it.
As I’m going around the region, visiting Children’s Centres, charities, food pantries, churches and Kids Matter partners, I hope to share with you some of the inspiring stories of people that I meet; those impacted by the cost of living crisis and those trying to make our community more equitable.
I’ll also be discovering what Kids Matter’s aim of ‘every child in need raised in a strong family’ looks like in Merseyside and share with you how you might get involved too.
If you would like to find out more about Kids Matter’s parenting programme in Merseyside, we would love to chat! Please contact Keren at partnership@kidsmatter.org.uk.