Stoke-on-Trent mums support group sees 500% rise in referrals

The Stoke-on-Trent Mothers Support Network supports mums from around the area

The founder of a support group for mums says it has seen a 500% rise in the number of referrals to its service.

The Stoke-on-Trent Mothers Support Network was set up in 2019 to initially support refugee mothers, later moving to help all mothers in the surrounding area.

Many people asking for help are "at the end of their rope," said founder Laura Carter.

"We're now getting daily what we would get weekly every single day," she said.

The numbers were set to "increase even more" as it prepares for its "busiest winter," added the 35-year-old from Sneyd Green.

The group has seen a 500% rise in referrals

She said she never expected the increase to be so marked as it is a small organisation, which only has two other volunteers.

"In our busiest week around six months ago, we had 134 seeking help from us and we've gone up to at least 500 people per week that need support and we can't do all of that", Ms Carter said.

The group, which recently won a BBC Radio Stoke Make a Difference Award, also signposts the mums to other services.

"If we can't get a food parcel to them, we will find somebody that can, because turning people away is just unthinkable," she added.

'No food left'

About 11,500 members interact with the group via Facebook and messaging, and Ms Carter said she expected a lot more people to require support.

"We usually get messages in the evenings when people are really stressed worrying about what they're going to do for the next day, saying 'we've literally got no food left' or 'we've got nothing on the gas or electricity meter, or 'I've got a pound left'.

"People don't just need a top-up to keep them going, they are desperate and at the end of their rope."

The rocketing energy prices have also caused the group to "rethink" the way it works.

"I mean, we declined potatoes from one of the supermarkets one week because we knew that a lot of the families that we support just don't have the energy to cook potatoes all the time", Ms Carter said.

An appeal set up to help feed families has raised more than £400.

"The support has been amazing and it's even more amazing at the moment, because everybody's struggling - even working families", she said.

"So for people to give money out of their own pockets - even knowing that they are having to tighten their belts - I think it's really amazing and it just shows the sense of community we've got as British people."