I have written in this column before about the wonderful work carried out by the Brentwood charity, SNAP – Special Needs and Parents. Each time I visit I am more in awe of the patience and dedication of all of those involved in helping children and families who are going through the hardest of times when they child has been diagnosed with a condition, disability or illness which changes the way their life is lived.
My most recent visit to SNAP was with David Johnston MP, the Minister for Children with the Department for Education. I’d invited David to Brentwood so he could hear first-hand how the policies created by the DfE work in practice, and how there is still room for improvement in how the local health authorities and councils work with children with disabilities to ensure they get the care and support they desperately need.
We were very fortunate to meet Liz, a mum who has been coming to SNAP for fifteen years with her daughter. Liz described eloquently how she was in shock when her daughter was born with multiple disabilities and, in her own words, “just tried to survive” for the first year. She was referred to SNAP but feared it would be a place of sadness and gloom.
When Liz and her daughter arrived for their first visit, she found the building full of children who were living their best lives, and realised everything was set up for her daughter to be “effortlessly her”. Liz told her: “I saw a future for the first time, and I saw a world I wanted to be part of. We’ve not looked back since.”
I was very pleased the Minister was able to hear this powerful testimony to the work SNAP does for the children of Brentwood and far beyond. I know David was moved by what he heard, and I have asked him to invite the SNAP team to Westminster to share their specialised and expert knowledge with policy-makers.
I was very proud to be able to show of the work of one of our finest local charities, and I wish all at SNAP – especially the hard working staff, and the families whose lives are transformed by them – a very happy Christmas.
