A behind-the-scenes look at the families we help
Making sure babies in Bristol have a safe space to sleep
Baby Bank Network helps families who are experiencing poverty or crisis, by providing essential items for their babies and young children.
But what does that mean, in reality? As a small charity, how do we define poverty or crisis and decide who receives our support?
Families in Bristol are facing a multitude of crises
First, the situation is rarely straightforward and the crises we come across are many and varied. Often, it's a crisis that the family couldn't have predicted or prevented, for example when a family has to flee their home at short notice – leaving everything behind.
What unites every situation though is a baby or young children at the heart of that family who doesn't have access to the items they need.
In the last 10.5 years we've helped nearly 12,500 families. The majority of them are:
- Low income or no income
- Refugees or asylum seekers with no recourse to public funds
- Homeless (or at risk of homelessness)
- Living in emergency accommodation
But it doesn’t end there. We usually see other complexities at play too, such as:
- People experiencing domestic abuse or sexual abuse
- Parents with learning or physical disabilities
- Families coping with mental health issues
- Mums being under 21
Some babies are born in prison. Some mums didn't know they were pregnant and arrive at hospital with nothing. There are all kinds of challenges being thrown at families in our community.
One of our Baby Bank Network volunteers selecting pre-loved donations for a local family in crisis.
How do we decide who receives support?
Importantly, we don't decide ourselves who should benefit from Baby Bank support, and we don't ask for proof. We rely on a network of trusted referral partners who know the family better and can best judge what items each family particularly needs. These referral partners include health visitors, midwives and staff from other charities and organisations such as children’s centres, homeless shelters, refugee support networks, food banks, nurseries – anyone who works with families who might benefit from our service is welcome to refer to us.
We get very few details about the family for confidentiality reasons – just enough to get a sense of what they're facing, so we can prioritise the most suitable items. This might include:
- A safe place to sleep
- A pram or sling to get out and about
- Clean clothes
- Nappies, toiletries and hygiene items
- Feeding accessories
Five families we’ve helped this week
We looked back at five families we helped this week to give you a sense of the kind of challenges and circumstances that might lead to a family in Bristol looking for support:
- A tiny baby in neo-natal intensive care
A stay in NICU is one of the most difficult scenarios any new parent can face – and those experiencing other life challenges are not immune. For this family, we provided pre-loved tiny baby clothes, feeding accessories and new toiletries – for mum as well as baby, so she can feel a bit more human while spending so long in hospital. In this case, we were also able to provide an activity mat for the baby so once they're safely home, they can enjoy a bit more normality.
- A family in emergency accommodation
This family has a 6-month old baby, and had to leave their home at short notice with very few items. We started by giving them a travel cot that can move with them to their next home. We also provided weaning items so the little one can start enjoying solid foods, and new toiletries for mum and baby. The family also asked about the possibility of a swimming kit, which we were happy to provide, so they can continue to enjoy family activities. This is vital for everyone’s wellbeing when so many other factors are uncertain.
- Twins!
Twice the fun, of course – also, twice the amount of baby paraphernalia for families to provide. We’ve actually fulfilled two orders for twins recently. One of our key priorities is making sure young children have somewhere safe to sleep, so we were able to offer sleep options for all the babies. One family also asked for a double buggy, which unfortunately we didn't have in stock. If you or anyone you know has twins who've outgrown their double buggy, please consider donating it to Baby Bank – we'd be very grateful!
- A refugee mum with no recourse to public funds
In this situation, mum was sleeping on the floor alongside her 2-month old baby. Neither of them had a safe space to sleep. When this referral came in we were running low on stock, but thanks to your donations, we were able to provide the baby with a Moses basket, baby clothes, age-appropriate toys and a play mat – improving their living situation considerably. We also gave mum a baby carrier, so she can get out and about more easily with her baby and start finding her feet in her new community.
- Brand new baby at Southmead
The first baby to make use of one of our '
How can we reach even more families?
At any one time, families in our community are facing all manner of challenges, and despite helping almost 12,500 families since we started, there are some pockets of Bristol we still haven’t reached.
As well as expanding our network of referral partners, one of our ongoing goals is to explore new ways to reach more families. So far, this has included working directly with the welfare teams looking after refugees and asylum seekers in Bristol, talking to other mum and baby units, and of course we have strengthened our great relationship with the maternity team at Southmead Hospital who provide our emergency newborn bundles. There are always more families looking for support.
There are two main ways you can help:
- Make a financial donation to help keep our service running. We are so grateful to our regular donors who mean we can reach as many Bristol families as possible.
- Donate essential pre-loved items for babies and young children. Here’s our wish list.