The Power of Play

“Families we work alongside don’t have much; yet these families are thinking of people who have less than they do.” Says Ashley Dunsmuir, Co-ordinator of Stepping Stones for Families Go2Play Family Play Service.

Families at our family play project in Townhead are collecting: warm clothing; jackets; and putting together survival kits for people who are homeless in Glasgow City. Kits include: toothpaste, toothbrush, gloves, hats, water, protein bars and sanitary towels. The kits and clothing are then dropped off to Glasgow RSVP (Rough Sleeping and Vulnerable Persons outreach team) and Glasgow Night Shelter.

Parents and children co-design our play services “We have a planning group with parents and staff; we were all exploring fundraising. One parent had experience of the homeless survival kit initiative last year, and shared this with other parents at the group” remarks Ashley “the parents decided they wanted to support people experiencing homelessness this winter and Christmas.”

Our family play service brings together isolated families who have very young children.  The overall aim is to support and strengthen family and community relationships, through the power of play.

“The families will continue the survival kits through January; where this journey goes will be for them to decide” explains Ashley. “As a service we look to the knowledge and experiences that people have, we support them to build upon these considerable strengths, creating the environments that can harness that power.”

Stepping Stones for Families’ focus is on prevention; early intervention and a children’s rights based approach. We believe in building relationships with parents, carers and children; and that everyone has the potential to make and sustain positive changes in their lives. We support families to tackle the effects of poverty and disadvantage, in the earliest stages of their journey.”