Iram's story: Small acts of kindness
A little support went a long way for a mother struggling with depression and a daughter who has autism.
Nothing to smile about
In this business, you hear many sad stories. One of the saddest came when one exasperated mother told to us: "I have nothing to smile about in my life. I live in fear every day wondering what my daughter will do. I can't think about the future at all." Those were the heartbreaking words of Iram, mother of Asha, a ten-year-old girl with autism and learning difficulties that result in very challenging behaviour.
As innocent as Asha may seem, she takes great joy in destroying toys within minutes of receiving them. Her clothes only last a few days before they are in tatters. Iram had exhausted herself caring for her and worrying about what comes next. We began providing short break services to Asha at the weekends so that her parents could have a few hours' peace to recover and think about other aspects of their lives.
Ben's story: Fulfilling a lifelong dream
An inspirational youngster's pursuit of his dream served as a great ice breaker to meet other kids at the local rink.
For most youngsters, their first time ice skating is a momentous moment. This was certainly true for 12-year-old Ben. But for him it was even more special. Ben has a physical disability and uses a wheelchair. Because of this, he had previously been told he couldn't enjoy ice skating like everyone else. But at the Oak Tree Foundation, we don't recognise such limited thinking!
As our mission is to create equal opportunities, our services are user-led wherever possible. After all, who is better-placed to decide what we should be doing than the people actually using our services? So when we asked our play scheme group what activities they would like to do and Ben said he wanted to go ice skating, we knew what we had to do.
Ruby's story: Pain behind the smile
The small things made a big difference for one woman taking her children away from a violent home.
Always smiling
Ruby is always smiling. A young woman in her early 30s, she has two beautiful daughters, both under the age of four, who attend our Little Stars Daycare Nursery. The children are always immaculately dressed, as is Ruby. She is a highly educated woman who carries an air of confidence about her. And she's always smiling.
So it was all too easy for people to miss the warning signs. But when she asked Sajida for her personal phone number, in case she required 'out of hours' help, it soon became clear something was wrong. Eventually, Ruby confided in our staff about the serious mental and physical abuse she was suffering at the hands of her husband.