2024 will be an unhappy New Year for 225 children a day – minimum*. 

The days following the Christmas/New Year holidays are the worst for this. Possibly two in five parental separations happen – or are announced – at this time. There is another, but not so sharp, peak after the summer holidays.  

There will be an increased need for our services, but only noticeable after a delay. The immediate effect on excluded parents -overwhelmingly but not exclusively fathers - is paralysis and shock. This takes some time to recover from. It is often even longer for them to realise that their children are not going to be allowed to see them much or even at all. 

Our charity gets enormously heartening feedback from those we help. They are, however, a tiny, tiny fraction of those in need. We were once principally funded by a government grant, generously multiplied several times over from charitable sources. The financial crisis of years ago put an end to state aid. It was not only us - The loss of national and local government income to the voluntary sector was worsened by falls in their income and an increase in need across the board.  

This leaves us reliant on membership and small donations. We hope and plan to add to this from other sources.  

This newsletter goes to people who, mostly, are already members. Thank you, and please renew. But if each one of you recruited just one new member each, it would make a noticeable difference. It is not just altruistic. It is something you should do for your children. So that their children do not suffer in the same way as they do now.  

*The number of children involved in private family law proceedings. The latest figures (Jan-March 2023) multiplied by 4 and divided by 365. It does not therefore include children whose excluded parent has not made an application to court.  This is an unknown but certainly large number, especially for fathers. It does, however, include a relatively small number of applications for orders that do not directly involve the allocation and organisation of parenting time.  

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