‘... and breathe’ is a community group currently based in Bettws, it was started by a group of mums within the community to help support unpaid parents or carers of children/adolescents with disabilities and give them a safe place to “breathe.” The parents we support are often left feeling isolated and unheard within general parent groups due to the judgement and stigma related to having children with differences. We hope to create a new community for those that feel alone within their struggles, provide peer support, guidance and activities to improve not only the parents' wellbeing but the children's too., it has been successful.
The group was established on Friday 1st March 2024 and has been held at Y Sifil in Bettws since, since starting we are proud that we have been able to give our members a place where they not only, they feel safe, but their children do too. I have listed below some quotes given by parents upon our recent feedback forms;
“I have gained more confidence through coming to group”
“I would just like to say thank you for all the support and help. It’s nice to relate to parents going through similar situations and learning about ADHD/Autism”
“I look forward to attending.”
These are just three quotes from some of our members that we try to help weekly, we try to help our members in any way we can. Most of our members are parent-carers who are often unable too work due to their children's needs, it is because of this we run not only our groups but related activities at no cost to the parent. If they have any specific struggles, promoting self-care, referring to agencies that we feel may benefit our members, even liaising with professionals within the local authority where needed.