OUR
SUCCESSES
Amongst the Trust's numerous successes in
helping children, the following cases are typical examples. The
details are true, but the names have been altered to protect anonymity.
BRIAN
lives with his mother and older brother in a rented house – a great change
from the time when his father was part of the family and kept them in some
style. Working in the Far East as a
financial consultant he telephoned one day to say that not only was he seeking a
divorce but was living with a boyfriend. He
then moved base and refused to allow his boys to visit.
The same year, mother had a stroke and then developed a brain tumour.
She is unable to drive, is dependent upon state benefits and has had
several long periods in hospital. Fortunately
we were able to support Brian in a state boarding school and the family is able
to manage with holiday support from the grandmother.
Both boys suffered greatly from these traumatic changes to their lives.
HANNA
lives with her mother and younger brothers.
Both boys were thought to have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the
father.
A Social Services
investigation had proved inconclusive. Then
the mother suffered a psychotic breakdown and was admitted to hospital under the
Mental Health Act, having tried to cut her throat. She has now been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and is
still very unwell. One of Hanna’s
brothers has settled well into boarding and we have also just arranged to help
his sister in the same way.
ALAN
is the only child of a mother who spent her own childhood in care and was in
fact born in Holloway Prison. Mother
and son live in a rented flat in a City Centre. They have no relations at all and mother suffers from a
particular form of lupus disease which has resulted in her suffering a major
stroke. She is frequently taken to
hospital but has often discharged herself in order to be with her son.
He has been accommodated by the local authority which commissioned an
independent assessment of the family. The
agency carrying out the assessment was so impressed by what they found that they
started to fund the boy at a good prep school.
He did well in Common Entrance and started at a well-known school.
However, the placement collapsed because there were insufficient funds
for mother and son to see each other. Proper
funding has now enabled him to attend a good foundation school where he can
maintain regular contact with his mother.
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Despite the fact that The Reedham Trust supports
children for social and not educational reasons, we are always pleased to
receive notification in the Autumn Term of examination results for those of our
students who have reached the stage of taking their G.C.S.E.s. or A Levels.
Having settled down at boarding school and being away, for a large part
of the year, from difficult or worrying home circumstances many young people
flourish and when they reach the age to take exams perform very creditably
indeed, laying a firm foundation for further study and career prospects.
If you require any further details of the Trust, please contact Jean Watkins, the Trust Secretary,
on:-
Tel: + 44 (0)20-8660 1461
Fax: + 44 (0)20-8763 1293
Email: info@reedham-trust.org.uk