In 2010 Helen Shannon and her team planted an estates church where she lives in North London called church@five, which she still leads today. She also is one of the founding trustees and Projects Director for Hope North London; and is an Associate Minister at St Barnabas North London. We chatted to Helen about partnering with Kids Matter and the impact on her community:
Why did you decide to partner with Kids Matter?
I think there’s two reasons. The first is is Emma, our Kids & Families Lead, who highly recommended Kids Matter and was really enthusiastic about doing it. But also, I had seen Kids Matter doing some seminars at Focus and I realised that tailored the programme to people like us in communities like ours, rather than a middle-class parenting programme. This was much more for our estate and for the parents on our estate and low-income communities. The other thing that really attracted me to the programme is that it doesn’t give people all the answers. We believe that people want to be the best parents they can be. Kids Matter really helps them achieve being the parents that they desire to be rather than a classroom type of learning where you get it right or you get it wrong.
How have you seen Kids Matter impact your community?
It’s been a little bit of a slow burn; I think things on estates and low-income communities always take a long time. But we’re now starting to see connections between Kids Matter, our kids’ group and families, and church@five – all working together, which I think is great. People are starting to bring other people, which is always good. There seems to be an expectation and an aspiration for being good parents despite how we were parented – that, actually, it can be better for our kids.
What has been a highlight on your Kids Matter journey?
As a church leader you want the teams and partnerships that you work with to flourish. And so just watching Emma (our facilitator) work with the Kids Matter team, and that really working, and them really understanding our situation and where we’re at. Kids Matter really got us and understood us, and I think that that is so important with a partner organisation.
What would you say to a potential partner thinking about joining Kids Matter?
The Kids Matter team are highly relational and they’ve got so much experience in so many different settings… and you might be wondering whether the programme will work in your setting? I would encourage you to chat to them; start a conversation!