Tackling poverty is important as it has far-reaching impacts on the health, wellbeing, and development of babies, children, and families – it also makes parenting much harder. More families are struggling to make ends meet, placing immense stress on parents, and leaving babies and children vulnerable to the effects of financial hardship.
In this important webinar, we heard from a range of experts, including a courageous young parent called Corrine. Corrine shared her experiences of living through the challenges of financial hardship and its impact on her health and wellbeing. Corrine now uses her voice to advocate for change. In October 2023, Corrine attended the Labour and Conservative party conferences, where she shared her experiences directly with national decision-makers, working to ensure families like hers are heard and supported.
Our expert panel of speakers also included:
Professor Monica Lakhanpal, Professor of Integrated Community Child Health Population, Policy & Practice Dept, UCL GOS Institute of Child Health. Monica is an internationally renowned expert in this field, using innovative approaches to research to drive change for economically and socially disadvantaged groups whose needs are often overlooked. Monica presented on the national context of poverty, sharing her ground-breaking research and policy recommendations for change.
Claire Scothern – General Manager – Children’s Services for Derbyshire Community Health Services Foundation Trust. Claire shared their award-winning innovation to improve outcomes for families affected by poverty. Through their ground-breaking local partnership between Derby health visiting services and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, they have enabled families to have rapid access to personalised support, putting millions of pounds of unclaimed benefits into the pockets of families in need. This collaborative model of working won last year’s Nursing Times’ public health nursing award and can easily be replicated in other areas.