Barnardo's Family Focus wellbeing worker Aimee McGuinness has spoken about the "incredibly sad" situations facing families in Birmingham and the West Midlands, as many struggle to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis. The 36-year-old, who has been with the charity for over a decade, is one of the first wellbeing workers to support families through the new Family Focus programme, which aims to address the root causes of ill health beyond GP consultations.
New service tackles social needs behind medical issues
The Family Focus programme, run by Barnardo's in partnership with Modality Partnership, is a relatively new service centred on helping improve outcomes for children and families while reducing pressure on health services across the West Midlands. It provides practical, emotional and non-clinical support to families, with wellbeing workers based at five medical centres across Birmingham and Smethwick.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, Aimee described a case where a family's home had a significant mold problem, leading to regular respiratory issues and chest infections. "The GP addressed the medical need, but then also recognised because the parents shared their property is damp, it's got mold," she said. "That's where the doctor recognised that there was actually a social need that was contributing to the medical."
Advocacy and practical help for families
Family Focus was able to carry out an "advocacy call" to relevant authorities and used a community-based service to treat the mold and help the family run their home more efficiently. Aimee explained that from this point, the service could also advise on housing options available to the family moving forward.
Over the last few months, Aimee has attended to dozens of cases, with families typically receiving between six and eight sessions with their dedicated support person. She highlighted the range of challenges families face: "We see families that are living in unsuitable accommodation. We see families that are living in accommodation where it's severely overcrowded, unsuitable, but there are no other options. We see families that are struggling to provide and make ends meet, we have families that have very limited recourse to public funds."
Cost of living crisis adds to stress
Aimee noted that she regularly sees working families join the programme, as the cost of living crisis means they struggle to make ends meet. "Families are scraping together month by month or living week by week, and then if you pile on top of that, financial stress, unsuitable accommodation - we've got parents that are really anxious about so many different elements of life," she said.
The wellbeing worker admitted that it can be hard to see families struggling, and that empathy is a key part of the support work. However, she stressed that Barnardo's provides support for staff members who may be affected by the situations they face. "We all have that professionalism, but yes, absolutely there are times where you walk away from a family feeling incredibly sad for the situation they're in," she said. "There are days where I'll come home and have a little cry because some people you meet, it is incredibly sad the situation that they're in. But then I always say, thank God for these services [for families]. So they're able to help them if they need it."
Encouraging families to reach out
For families in Birmingham or the wider West Midlands who may be struggling, Aimee urged them to "reach out" because there are people around who can help. The Family Focus programme is designed to help families address challenges before they escalate, and wellbeing workers are available at five medical centres across Birmingham and Smethwick.
The service is part of Barnardo's wider efforts to support children and families in the region, and comes as many families continue to feel the squeeze of rising living costs. With the programme's focus on early intervention, it aims to reduce the strain on GP surgeries and other health services by tackling the social determinants of health.
