Gift Baskets Given to Mind

Our young person E recently led a thoughtful project, organising gift bags for the mental health charity Mind.

Each bag included a self-care message written by our young people and staff – a small gesture with a big impact.

Thank you to everyone who contributed time, ideas and kind words to make this happen 💙

E’s contact at Mind shared this lovely feedback:

“Thank you ever so much for your donation from you and the children. It will go in our Crisis Café and will lift many people’s spirits.”

A Poem from E – ‘Family’

We’re very grateful to E from Elm View, who has given us permission to share their powerful poem about family and love.

Family,
they say they’re there to just take care of you until your 18,
until you can take care of yourself,
but,
they are so wrong.

They don’t know,
they don’t know that a mother birthed her child for a reason,
that reason was to love her kid with unconditional love that you could drown in it,
they don’t know that a father would dress up as a princess and wear a tiara as soon as his daughter asks him to,
and that he’ll kick a ball around whenever just to teach his son football or rugby or basketball,
they don’t know.

They don’t know that a brother or a sister is a blessing because you have a built in best friend,
but it’s also hell because they’ll annoy you 24/7,
but the love is there somewhere between fights and play-fights,
it’s always there.

A family can be big or small,
or different,
it could have foster kids or adoptive kids or no kids,
but sometimes a family is just a family,
and you shouldn’t judge it before you’ve even met into it.

E, Elm View🩵

Thank you, E, for trusting us with your words.