Charity reflects on changing needs over 25 years

**Charity reflects on changing needs over 25 years**

**Help a Guernsey Child says it works through professional referrers who know the children**

A charity that raises money to provide children with "essential items" says families are dealing with "changing pressures" as it marks its 25th anniversary.

Help a Guernsey Child said that since it was established in 2001, it has supplied more than £1.2m worth of essential items, equipment, services and support to local children and young people.

The charity said that in its early years it supported a number of larger community projects that benefited children, but that there is now a growing emphasis on helping individual children and families.

Alex Jenner, from Help a Guernsey Child, said: "Over the past 25 years, we have seen significant changes in the types of support families require."

Jenner said that although needs have changed, the charity's "purpose has remained the same, to ensure that children in the Bailiwick are not disadvantaged because they lack the essentials that every child deserves".

The charity said it operates through professional referrers who know the children and families involved.

Grant applications are submitted by social workers, health visitors, teachers, doctors, nurses and other frontline professionals, and are assessed individually by the charity's Directors.

The charity said the greater focus on individual cases means providing things as "fundamental as a bed, flooring, white goods, clothing, safety equipment or a heating appliance, as well as specialist disability equipment and educational opportunities".

It added that the nature of its work reflects the "changing pressures" faced by local families.

These include the rising cost of living and greater demand for essential household items and practical support, it said.

Jenner said: "A relatively small grant at exactly the right time can make a profound difference to a child's safety, wellbeing, education or independence."