We catch up with Shrewsbury based charity PEGS as they find this year the demand on there services just keeps getting bigger and bigger and find out more about the work they do, supporting parents being abused by theirown children.
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00:00So we're here at Pegs Charity with Michelle, and Michelle, just remind us what Pegs does, what's it all about?
00:06Yeah, so we are an organisation that supports parental figures who are being abused by their child, whether their child is minor aged or adult aged.
00:15And we're here today, we've done a couple of stories with you in the past, but it's just been insane, the numbers, the referrals you're getting through.
00:23Just talk us through, was it over 100% increase last month?
00:26Yeah, do you know what, the capacity and demand is always interesting with us, but at the start of April we had a 112% increase in referrals compared to the same period of time this time last year.
00:39That equates to the space of seven days, the team processed 220 referrals, that's not included in the referrals that were waiting to be processed.
00:49Today as we sit here and talk, we've processed 415 referrals, but again we've got probably over 80 still waiting to be processed.
00:58So how does it work, when someone gets in touch, what are they saying, what are they asking for from you, and when you refer them, where do you refer them on to?
01:06So, we've tried to streamline everything to try and get people the help that they need at the earliest opportunity.
01:13Referrals come through our website, whether that's professional or self-referrals.
01:17They complete the form that asks some personal but really needed questions to help us to guide them through the support journey.
01:24From there, what we will do is our triage team, who are incredible, they will contact parents by email, because we are an online-based service,
01:31and then we will set out the level of support that parents can access.
01:35Now, currently, as of today, we are still not funded specifically for Shropshire area,
01:40however, that doesn't mean we can't provide support for this area, it just means the support is different.
01:45And by different, what I mean is that if anyone in the county wants to access support from us,
01:50they're able to access seven virtual daily practitioner-led sessions, including evening sessions.
01:56An online peer support group, they can access a six-week empowerment course,
02:00a two-part resilience and mindfulness workshop, a wellbeing practitioner and support through emotional and wellbeing support as well.
02:08That's all free of charge because we don't charge parents for support.
02:11I don't feel morally that it's the right thing to do, and also as an organisation,
02:15we don't think we should be charging those experiencing any form of abuse.
02:19The only thing those in the sector, sorry, in the area cannot access is one-to-one at the moment,
02:25but hopefully, moving forward, that will change.
02:27Yeah. So, I mean, this, you know, it does have to be funded, and it's ironic that we're based here in Shrewsbury,
02:35and your funding's, you've got nothing coming from Shropshire as is,
02:38but you've helped how many people, would you guess, in Shropshire?
02:41Probably over a thousand in the entire time that we've been going, so the past five years,
02:45and that's different levels of support.
02:47We always look for opportunity, and we hope that moving forward, things will change,
02:53and we'll have more of a robust funding stream where we're able to provide that much-needed support to those locally.
03:00So what, why do you think you're getting, you know, over a hundred percent increase?
03:04What's going on? What's happening?
03:06I think the awareness is out there.
03:08I think people are accepting the fact that child-to-parent abuse does happen.
03:11I think we're seeing more professionals become aware.
03:15I think the fact that PEGS has grown so much over the last five years to the organisation that we are now
03:21has meant that our awareness around our services and who we are has increased.
03:26And obviously, every time I do something with yourself, for example, and we do media,
03:30that does push referrals, which is difficult sometimes.
03:34It's great. We want people to access support, but we're always mindful around the capacity and demand.
03:39Is there any kind of appeal you can put out to help with funding at all, in any way?
03:47Of course. I mean, we'll always welcome, you know, there's donations, there's grants.
03:51Perhaps somebody has experience with bid-writing or creating those streamlines, those relationships with funders.
04:00I mean, on average, what we say is it would potentially cost around £15 a month to sponsor a parent to work with us on a one-to-one basis.
04:07There's lots of information on our website. We've got a whole fundraising page.
04:13There's other ways that people can get involved as well for free.
04:16So we have an easy fundraising link, for example, which means that people can shop online and things.
04:21Donations come to us. It doesn't cost anyone a penny, but we would really value that because it really does help.
04:26It makes a difference.
04:27And do you think it's kind of that hidden suffering, really, you know, for a parent to come forward and say,
04:35it's my child that's abusing me, it's kind of a big moment for them, isn't it?
04:41It must be, some of the stories you must hear must be quite harrowing, really.
04:44It's heartbreaking. Child to parent abuse is one of the most horrific forms and unseen forms of domestic abuse.
04:54Abuse is also really heavy for a lot of families and we get that, but it's the behaviour we're talking about.
04:59We're not looking to demonise a child, for example, but we are here to look to empower and support these parents or caregivers.
05:06Quite often the parents that have worked with us have been working or trying to work with other services for long periods of time
05:13and they've just been met with blame, shame or guilt or told, we can't help you.
05:19And so when the parents finally come to us, sometimes, you know, for them it is a sense of relief that there is a service that's out there,
05:26that this does have a name and that they're not alone.
05:28And I think that's really, really empowering.
05:30If all you can do is take away from the fact of letting somebody know that you believe them,
05:36that is the start of change right there, that is validating someone's experiences
05:40and that is a huge, huge gift to give somebody, regardless of what their experience looks like.
05:46I mean, my team are incredible.
05:48They spend their day, they do the doom now.
05:50My role's slightly changed, so I'm not so much frontline,
05:53but they are there for these parents and caregivers, advocating for them.
05:58Because we do for, we don't do with, and I think that's really, really crucial.
06:02But without my team, we would not have the team that we've got,
06:05we would not have the service that we've got.
06:08And it's such a place of privilege that we're coming from,
06:12but that doesn't mean we don't understand.
06:14Child-to-parent abuse sadly can and does cost lives,
06:18and I think only by starting to normalise these conversations that we will see real change.
06:23And the reality is, don't forget, these parents or caregivers,
06:27they're someone you know, they're someone you love or care about,
06:30they're your neighbour, they're the person you see at the shops or catching a bus, for example.
06:34They're within our communities.
06:36So they're living or trying to survive in plain sight, and we need to do more.
06:41Shropshire's quite a rural county as well, if you think about it.
06:43So we need to do more about reaching those communities.
06:46What can we do to empower professionals as well?
06:48Shropshire's quite a rural county as well.