Holding Space

Supporting parents and carers across East Sussex, whose children are struggling with their mental health.

When your child suddenly becomes ill; depressed, anxious, suicidal, with low self esteem and shuts down from you as a parent, you don’t know what to do. Your world gets turned upside down. You are meant to protect your child, make them happy. But you can’t seem to get any help; find out what’s wrong; who can offer you support.  As a parent you beat yourself up wondering where you went wrong. You feel guilty. 

And you ask yourself why? Because there is such a huge stigma around mental health. And especially when it comes to children and young people. You see it in the eyes of your friends, your family. They don’t mean to judge you but they do. The professionals tell you they can’t help you and that it’s your parenting style and advise you to go on a parenting course! 

There is no support for parents. The voice of the parent is not heard. And we need to stop this. We need to provide support for parents and carers and let them know that they are not alone. That it’s okay and their child has an illness. And they will be supported. 

This was me; a parent with lived experience with no support, no one I could talk to; nowhere I could get support. So in September 2019 I launched and founded Holding Space in the hope that we were not the only family experiencing this. 

Holding Space is a not-for-profit registered charity whose primary ethos is to support parents and carers across East Sussex, whose children are struggling with their mental health. We have no age criteria and there does not need to be a diagnosis.  We believe that educating, supporting and empowering families is crucial to the mental health of the next generation, along with early intervention and support. We do this by providing families with a safe, non-judgmental, confidential safe space where they can share, connect with others and talk about everything regarding their child’s mental health and know that they are not alone. No parent should walk this journey alone and in silence. We offer a range of support and services; online and face-face parent coffee mornings, telephone support, low-cost counselling, walk & talk sessions. 

Holding Space is a volunteer led organisation of 30 people made up of local parents with lived experience, carers, qualified therapists and mental health practitioners. We rely on grant funding and fundraising to enable us to do the work we do. 

How can you help? Maybe this resonates with you and you need support? Or you’d like to support us through volunteering, fundraising, sponsorship? Please get in touch! We’d love to talk to you more about our work and to work with you; let’s give the next generation their lives back and make a difference. 

Know that you are never alone

Further details can be found on our website:  https://www.holdingspace.org.uk/about-us

Or contact me directly:

Hansa Raja-Jones
hansa@holdingspace.org.uk
07922851207