“I started in the Cumbria-based team (now the Kentown Support team) with just one other Family Support Worker and our Manager. Immediately, my favourite word to hear when I visited families became ‘remission’. At the time, all our visit notes had to be written up by hand and it was several years before we were given email addresses.
Marlene, retired Family Support Worker
Rainbow Trust’s support was very important in Cumbria for the families living rurally as support was at a bare minimum. Caring for a sick child can be very isolating for the parents and siblings. The transport we provided was a great help for these families as some of them had to travel to Newcastle, Manchester or Liverpool for treatment, often more than a 200-mile round trip.
I will never forget the first family I visited and knocking on the door. I was nervous as I really wanted to do my best.
It was important to me to ensure that families knew that when they started receiving support, I would be there for as long as they needed me.
Every day being a Family Support Worker was a different story. The children I supported were amazing, so entertaining, amusing and curious about the world around them.
I loved working for Rainbow Trust, I was very proud of what Rainbow Trust stood for and I felt privileged to be welcomed into the lives of these families at such a daunting time. I hope I made their journey easier by going through it alongside them.
I would like to hope that Rainbow Trust will continue to grow and be able to reach out to more families that are in need over the next 40 years.”
There are so many families that may be feeling so helplessly alone and desperate, who need this specialist support from a Family Support Worker like Marlene. Please donate today to help us continue to support families who need our help.