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I've become a confident father

Action for Children, a charity that supports vulnerable children and young adults and campaigns for social justice, is helping to make a real difference to peoples lives

Action for Children - a charity that supports about 170,000 of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young adults and campaigns for social justice - is helping to make a real difference to people’s lives, writes Kate Burt in the Telegraph.

Six years ago, when Simon Gunner’s eldest son Marshall had still to reach his first birthday, Simon, now 36, was feeling desperate. Like most fathers, Simon’s sole ambition was to provide his child with security and stability. Yet, after a complicated break-up with Marshall’s mother, Simon found himself in a situation that made those basic parental hopes seem like a pipe dream: unemployed, penniless and newly homeless, Simon was forced to sleep rough under a canal bridge in his hometown of Chester. What, he felt, did he have to offer his baby son?

It would be a distressing situation for anyone, but for Simon it was compounded by the fact that he was halfway through custody proceedings, as his former partner was unable to care for Marshall. Needless to say, his parental confidence was at rock bottom - not the ideal frame of mind for dealing with a court case. ‘I felt overwhelmed,’ he says. ‘I thought: “I can’t do this”.’

After a stint in a hostel that Simon says he ‘wouldn’t wish on anyone’, he managed to get a Housing Trust flat. Finally he had a home to offer his young son, and gained custody of Marshall - but the rest of his life felt like it was in tatters. ‘I’d cared for Marshall a lot since he was born,’ he says, ‘but suddenly being alone and having him full time wasn’t easy; the practicalities - like sorting out benefits, money for food, nappies, electricity and gas - consume you, and on top of all that your child is crying, or needs changing or feeding or playing with. I had no idea who to turn to.’ It was then that Simon discovered Action for Children’s Chester Family Support service.

Read the rest of the story in The Telegraph

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