FULL FAMILIES
“I have now opened my eyes and seen a better life than before.”
As you read in our last newsletter, the Grimsby Full Families programme, running in conjunction with CPO (Creating Positive Opportunities), is beginning to have a real impact in the delivery of lasting personal change to grandparents, mothers, fathers and children. We are now working with more than 40 families from some of the town’s most challenging areas – firm in our belief that it is only by dealing with generational issues that you can effect true change. But enough from us - let us introduce you to young mum Paige and her family. CORBIN is your typical toddler – a real livewire, he smiles and laughs as he runs around the living room playing with his toys and demanding attention from the adults around him. His mum Paige and her partner Kieran clearly dote on the two-and-a-half-year-old and talk about his first days at nursery and progression into fulltime school. Together the family is looking forward to moving from their central Grimsby flat into a house in the next few weeks. “We can then get settled and that is what I want. Corbin can get his education in the same schools
throughout and have a good future,” said Paige. However, if you turn the clock back to the start of 2018, the picture was very different for the young couple, both 22. Corbin was born when Paige was just 19 and involved in a troubled relationship. With a new-born, she became a single mum and spent time moving from place to place before meeting Kieran and being introduced to the Full Families programme. “When I look back I realise I was a wreck, in fact I was falling apart. I loved Corbin from the start, but I was at breaking point and ready to lose myself,” recalled Paige. With a specific brief to help families of all ages in crisis, the CatZero and CPO (Creating Positive Opportunities) programme is running in North East Lincolnshire for three years – having received £349,000 from the Big Lottery through its Reaching Communities arm. For Paige, Kieran and Corbin the support has provided the springboard for them to deliver true and lasting change for themselves. CatZero Delivery Officer Sarah Coulson has worked with the family, attending official meetings,