Working families needing help, says baby bank

The baby bank says it is getting a referral to its services every 45 seconds when its help lines are open

A mother who was earning £43,000 a year before going on maternity leave says she has turned to a London charity for help.

Thea Jaffe is not able to claim maternity pay because she had not been at her job long enough. She is one of an increasing number of working families that London's largest "baby bank", which hands out pre-loved clothes and equipment, says it is supporting.

Little Village, which has hubs in Camden, Wandsworth, Brent, Hackney and Hounslow, says it is getting a referral to its services every 45 seconds when its help lines are open.

Schools, councils, social workers and healthcare professionals are contacting the charity on behalf of struggling families - and the charity says it cannot keep up with demand.

Thea Jaffe says Little Village makes her feel that there is "somebody who actually just wants to help me"

At the Little Village hub in Camden, north London, volunteers sort through the donated pre-loved, good quality clothes that will be passed on to families.

Ms Jaffe said that every day she faced an “impossible emotional and financial balancing act".

She has a masters degree and says she recently got a new job with an annual salary of £43,000 but, because she had not worked at the company for long enough before her baby was born, says she does not qualify for maternity pay.

'Feel relieved'

She is living off a combination of Universal Credit and Maternity Allowance. When her son Isaac was born, she struggled to buy essentials for him. He is Thea's third child and she said 70% of her income went on rent so she had already been struggling financially.

“I’m on one income and I can’t afford my life," she said. "The nursery bills for my two-year-old daughter and upcoming nursery bills for him, gas and electric going up, water bills going up, everything going up, food going up.”

Along with many other parents, she found Little Village to be a lifeline.

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“The whole cost-of-living crisis and everything, and then also having been a single parent for so long and all the stigma around that - you just feel relieved, to feel like, 'oh wow, here’s somebody who actually just wants to help me, actually cares about me and supports me and doesn’t judge me'.”

Little Village said the number of families it supported in London went up by 22% last year. It says it has helped more than 24,000 children under five since launching in 2016.

Families who need help from the baby bank must have a referral from a professional.

'Wave of need'

A spokesperson said an online referral form was received every morning, and that when its phone lines were opened, a request came in every 45 seconds from a school, social worker, council or health professional.

They added the organisation had been forced to introduce a daily cap on referrals because they could not keep up with demand.

Sophie Livingstone, CEO of Little Village, said: “It’s a continual wave of need.

"It’s heart-breaking, it’s really hard for our staff and volunteers who are desperate to help but there’s only so much we can do every day.

"We could open so many more spaces like this if we had the money to do it - and the need would still be there.”

She added: “We need urgent and thorough systemic change to give parents greater support and their children a chance of a better future. Too many families who are already really struggling, are being driven further down.”