Monday 27 June 2011

With Kids in the Daily Record..





This is an article from the Daily Record, informing people of Charities' fight to help deprived children. 

DURING a routine play therapy session, charity director Tricia Hughes is pretending to refuse to eat her breakfast.

Suddenly her head is forced down on the plate and she's told "Just f*****g eat it" by her five-year-old playmate.

But Tricia, a child psychotherapist, doesn't bat an eyelid.

This youngster's aggressive behaviour is typical of the challenging children she works with on a daily basis in the east end of Glasgow, where her charity With Kids is based.

As the co-founder of the Big Issue in Scotland, Tricia is all too familiar with the east end's poverty, drug problems, alcoholism, homelessness, child abuse and the impact each has on its children.

The director of With Kids, a Big Issue Foundation charity, said: "We have got children who have been born to parents with drug additions, so from day one their life is unpredictable and chaotic.


"The mother's priority is to get her next heroin fix, so the child comes second. Their house will have sparse furniture and poor food.


"Social work intervene, the child is taken into care, the mum goes into rehab to get off the drugs, the baby (who is a toddler by then) goes back to her but it's not working."

During weekly one-to-one, 50-minute sessions, it's Tricia's job to identify a child's problems through play.

She has encountered many situations of concern that immediately signal to her that families are struggling to cope and need help, like the orphan who buried his toys in the sandpit or the neglected youngster who pretended he was an animal.

She explained: "One child's father was killed in a violent incident and his mother died through drug addiction about a year later. He lived with his gran and became very close to another male relative who committed suicide.


"This wee boy is running around school shouting and screaming. He is living with complete unpredictability.


"Everybody he has loved has died and the one other person is his granny who is not in good health. It's no wonder he's playing up at school.


"We go in, look at what we can provide his granny and try to introduce stability and routine in his life."

Tricia launched the charity that nurtures and supports society's most vulnerable youngsters after 16 years of running the Big Issue in Scotland.

In 2006, With Kids opened for business in Glasgow's east end. With deprivation among the worst in Europe and an estimated 300 to 500 families in need, it was the ideal location for the two-year pilot.
Tricia said: "The east end is a vibrant and lively community where lots of families are managing fine.
"Then there are families who are struggling with difficulties like poverty and mental health problems.
"There are a significant number who are struggling, unsupported, with extreme difficulties that we shouldn't have in the 21st century.

"All neuroscience says templates for adult relationships are set in the first few years of life. You can compensate for them later in life, but wouldn't it be good if we got it right in the first place?"

With Kids is based on a preventative approach involving early intervention, working with

children and families, using a range of evidence-based strategies. Because With Kids is independent and isn't affiliated to but works closely with social services, parents are more likely to self-refer.

The charity provides financial, practical and emotional support to kids aged three to 11 and their families.

Such as the mum with two children under two who was given a pushchair, the family with five children who never had a Christmas tree, the single dad who needed bedding and flooring for his home, and countless young people who wouldn't have a Christmas present if it wasn't for the charity.

Tricia added: "It never ceases to amaze me with how profoundly children engage with their difficulties and find ways to make sense of them. They are very resilient."

Now in its third year, after a successful two-year pilot, With Kids is able to reach out to more people thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund to the tune of £660,000 over three years.

And it has touched the hearts of the east end's rich and famous sons and daughters. Film star Robert Carlyle, New York celebrity photographer David Eustace, actress Kathleen McDermott, artist Jim Lambie and entertainment tycoon James Mortimer have all been impressed with the With Kids ethos and lent their support by becoming ambassadors for the charity.

On the With Kids website, Robert Carlyle, who was raised by his father in the east end, explained why he had thrown his weight behind the charity.

He said: "These kids needs help and a bit of support. We all need it in our lives, no matter what social circumstance we come from.


"A lot of movies I have made deal with people at the a**e-end of the social ladder. With Kids gives children the opportunity to gain confidence in life.


"Whether you are interested in being an actor, a plumber, a brickie or a football player, you've got to set out to be the best you can be at any one of those things."


Tricia added: "Because our ambassadors have talked about their childhoods and that it wasn't always great, it has allowed people to talk about that and think 'Gosh, look what they did'.


"It's opened up a dialogue."

From flat broke to high heels

WHEN she moved back to Scotland after eight years abroad, single mum Sharon Porter and her daughter Shasa had nothing but the clothes they stood up in.

But their lives were turned around after they were referred to With Kids.

Low in confidence, Sharon, 27, never imagined it would lead her to modelling on a catwalk.

But she and Shasa starred in the With Kids Fashion Show on Thursday at the Hilton Glasgow.

The community development student, who returned to Glasgow from Spain in 2009, said: "I'd had my own house abroad so coming back was a total culture shock.

"I cannot praise them enough." casestudy "When I got a flat in Dennistoun, With Kids gave me a bed for Shasa and Tina from the charity gave me her old microwave.


"Christmas was a struggle. I only had a few things for Shasa but With Kids gave me a main present of a big doll, food and invited us to the Christmas party.


"Since then, I have grown in confidence and so has Shasa.


"She modelled on the catwalk and looked like she was meant to be there.


"With Kids is a lifeline. It is great to be able to speak to other parents. You are never looked down on and there's a real sense of community"

COOL CAUSE

With Kids, which has annual running costs of £300,000, relies on grants and donations. One of its main fundraisers - the Fashion Show and Midsummer Ball - took place on Thursday in the Hilton Glasgow when 20 young people who have benefited from the charity made their modelling debut. The £75-a-head event was hosted by actress Kathleen McDermott and interior designer John Amabile. For more information about the charity, or to make a donation, visit www.withkids.org.uk

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Wednesday 22 June 2011

Jim Lambie talks about his tough childhood in a deprived scheme

Jim Lambie, contemporary visual artist, has agreed to become a With Kids Ambassador. In this part one of three videos, Jim talks to us about his tough childhood in a deprived area, and the tough choices he had to make when growing up.



“I am delighted to be an Ambassador for With Kids.  It’s a fantastic charity based in the east end of Glasgow”


Having grown up in a deprived scheme, Jim knows the difficulties that most children in this position will face, so he tells us his story in a series of three videos, to inspire children not to give up and to follow their dreams. 

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Friday 17 June 2011

Kathleen McDermott Carberry becomes a With Kids ambassador



Kathleen was born and raised in the east end of Glasgow, although despite all of her success, she has remained loyal to the city she has spent all her life in, and to this day, still calls Glasgow her home.

To young people growing up in deprived areas, Kathleen is an inspiration. This is why she was invited back to her former school, St. Andrews secondary to speak to pupils.

It is also the reason why With Kids, approached her to become one of the charity's ambassadors alongside fellow Glaswegians, actor Robert Carlyle, and photographer David Eustace.

"I grew up in a stable background but a lot of kids didn't. There was no charity like With Kids back then. Now all i can do is raise awareness. 

I am born and bred in the east end of Glasgow. I was raised in Barlanark, it's not the most glam of places. I still speak with a Glasgow accent and i am not ashamed of it."




On June 23rd at the Hilton Hotel a fashion show with a difference will help to raise funds for some of Glasgow’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable children. The show will be organised by With Kids, the charity that seeks to help these children in Glasgow’s East End.

The With Kids Charity Ball & Fashion Show will be hosted by Kathleen McDermott Carberry, the Bafta Award winning actress who is herself a native of Glasgow’s East End. Kathleen will be joined on the night by John Amabile, the celebrity interior designer and television presenter.


A table of ten will cost £750 and we’d be delighted if you and your friends and clients could join us for a memorable night.  Drinks Reception, Dinner, Fashion Show, Auction, Entertainment. Tickets are available from fiona@fatbuzz.com.

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Wednesday 8 June 2011

David Eustace becomes a With Kids ambassador - Part Three


Celebrity photographer, and fellow East End inhabitant, David Eustace has joined forces with Glasgow Children's Charity "With Kids" as an ambassador to the charity.

David grew up in a poverty stricken area of the East End of Glasgow, and he knows first hand of the difficulties and disadvantages that most children in the east end have had to experience, so he offers his own words of wisdom to help the children reach their targets in life.


In this final part of three videos, David speaks of how it is important for kids to remember that the only thing that can hold them back is themselves, and how they must make the effort to achieve their goals.

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Monday 6 June 2011

David Eustace becomes a With Kids Ambassador - Part Two



In a few weeks time, one of the most unique and moving events Glasgow has ever seen will take place in the city this year.

On June 23rd at the Hilton Hotel a fashion show with a difference will help to raise funds for some of Glasgow’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable children. The show will be organised by With Kids, the charity that seeks to help these children in Glasgow’s East End.

The show will feature clothes from Marks and Spencer and perhaps some exclusively designed t shirts made by East End children and their families. These children themselves will take to the catwalk to model the clothes they have designed.

In this way, not only will much-needed funds be raised for one of Glasgow’s most important charities but the children will be undertaking something that can empower them in a way that they have never before experienced. Owing to grinding poverty, severe deprivation and chronic ill health in their families, these children will never have had the opportunity to see an event such as this, far less participate in it.

With Kids seeks to break the cycle of poverty and deprivation in Glasgow’s east end by intervening in the lives of young children with play therapy schemes that seek to strengthen their self-esteem and bring out their innate gifts. The boost to their confidence and self-esteem will be incalculable and will help to change their lives.

The event itself will be hosted by Kathleen McDermott Carberry, the Bafta Award winning actress who is herself a native of Glasgow’s East End. Kathleen will be joined on the night by John Amabile, the celebrity interior designer and television presenter.

There are still tables available for this event. A table of ten will cost £750 and we’d be delighted if you and your friends and clients could join us for a memorable night.  Drinks Reception, Dinner, Fashion Show, Auction, Entertainment. Tickets are available from fiona@fatbuzz.com.

As most of you will know, we have recently announced the charity's newest ambassadors, this includes names such as Robert Carlyle, Kathleen McDermott Carberry, David Eustace and more.

In this part two of three videos, David talks of his fondest childhood memories, the benefits of With Kids encouraging children to be creative,  and how photography has helped him overcome his own difficulties, such as reading.




Keep following the With Kids Blog, Facebook Page and Twitter, for part three of this interview, and regular updates on what With Kids is up to.

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Friday 3 June 2011

David Eustace becomes a With Kids ambassador - Part One



Celebrity photographer, and fellow East End inhabitant, David Eustace has joined forces with Glasgow Children's Charity "With Kids" as an ambassador to the charity.

Having grown up in a poverty stricken area in the east end of Glasgow in the 60's and 70's and raised by adoptive parents Jimmy and Susan Eustace, David knew of the troubles that families have gone through in the less fortunate areas of the city, but he encourages children never to let the fact that you are from the east end hold you back.

 "It doesn't matter what your second name is, or where you come from, or what other members of your family have done, it's all about you, tomorrow and what you can achieve. You can have dreams, you can do it, but it will involve a lot of bloody hard work."


In this part one of three interviews, David talks of his up-bringing in the east end of Glasgow, his happy memories of his childhood, and tells us the advice he would give to children in order for them to reach their goals.




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