Let's look out for Harrow's families

Aim: Our aim to deliver an education programme to empower families to gain control of their finances and manage the household budge

Who are we?

HOPE is based in Harrow and is an independent not-for-profit organisation with charitable status. We are not part of a bigger national organisation and rely solely on donations and raising funds to deliver our activities. We recruit local people to serve local families and have been doing so since 2001.

What do we think?

HOPE recognises being a parent is not easy and is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world, there is no formal training and at times can appear to offer very little reward. 

We believe every family is unique and special and every family has the right to determine and achieve their goals in life.

What is our objective?

Our objective is to support families to flourish in an ever changing and challenging world. 

Ultimately, we want to educate, reduce social inequalities, relieve poverty, improve health and well-being, and achieve stronger family units. 

What do we do? 

We deliver specialised parenting support programmes to meets the needs of families in Harrow .

So, what do we want to do? 

Your contribution will enable us to deliver a financial education programme to families helping them to gain control of their finances and manage the household budget.

We will deliver courses and One to One mentoring to parents and their children; where appropriate, on how to manage the household budget more effectively. Our priority target audience will be families most in need of financial assistance, this could be due to sickness, unemployment or low paid employment. The flexible content depending on the need will include savings, credit, and debt avoidance, communication, coping with consumer culture, and children and money; including parenting strategies to tackle the guilt associated with pester power from children and young people; planning, priorities and budget control. 

How do we know there is a need? 

In our experience from working closely with families’ over the last 18 years poverty is a major cause for concern and a huge factor in fuelling mental health issues due to stress associated with the lack of money. Parents are emotionally consumed with feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem and confidence, not just in their parenting skills but also as a provider. 

The families we support sometimes report having an inadequate income which typically means they have difficulties in meeting the family’s basic needs, including struggling to pay for food, accommodation, clothing, utilities, transport and recreation whilst trying to balance competing financial demands from their children.   

What is the impact of financially induced stress on children? 

The harmful impact of poverty on the children is often brought about by peer pressure and consumerism where the children very often have a sense of being different, the one without and less worthwhile. For children, the impact of a stress filled household and unhappiness can cause mental health issues, disharmony and rebellion, making an already challenging job of parenting more difficult. 

How do we know our project can have a positive impact? 

Here is what parents and children had to say after attending a course or having One to One mentoring. 

As a result of attending a course or receiving One to One mentoring all families reported: ·        

Greater confidence.       

 A reduction in financial stress.        

Feeling empowered to make better life choices to increase positive outcomes for their family        

Saving at least 10% off their weekly food bills       

Having a greater sense of control of their money        

Feeling more confident about dealing with banks and other companies        

Thinking longer term about their money to increase opportunities        

Putting money aside and saving and prioritising their spending   

At the beginning of the intervention’s parents reported feeling, ‘fed-up, scared, anxious, under pressure and depressed’ All these feelings were reported as not being present at the end.   

Why is your contribution needed? 

The changes to the individuals and the families we have supported on this financial education programme speak for themselves.  It is our desire to be able to continue to support more families and continue in our efforts to reduce social inequalities, poverty and stress, and increase confidence and a sense of control over finances and to create a happier harmonious family unit.