Tracey's story
Many local families visit the Family Centre where we provide a creative and nurturing environment and a range of activities for parents and children. Our staff are there to offer support and advice to parents.
Tracey's story
"When I was 15, I fell pregnant; I stayed at my mother's house until my baby was 4 months old and was asked to leave once I turned 16. I moved into my partner's mother's house with my daughter, but it was very overcrowded. I started to go to the Cardinal Hume Centre for advice and support. The staff in the Family Centre advised us to go to the local homeless unit and we were put into a B&B. We were given a room with a single bed on the seventh floor. It had no lift and our buggy was stolen on the first night. The staff contacted the council the next day and we were moved to a ground floor room in a much nicer B&B.
We stayed there for nearly a year, by which time I was expecting my second baby, but due to complications I was admitted to hospital for two weeks. When we returned to the B&B, we found that our room had been given to someone else and all our clothes and possessions had been taken away. We never got them back. We rang my partner's mother and she came and collected us. The staff at the Centre complained to the council on our behalf, and we were housed two weeks later in a two bedroom flat. I don't know what we would have done if I didn't have the support of my friends at the Centre."
Supporting us
To find out how to support our work please see our what you can do section or donate now. To find out more information about our work and to hear all the latest news from the Centre please stay in touch with us.
