Nigel Crocker, of the Grace Crocker Family
Support Foundation, believes that families who are shielding as a result of to their child’s condition need more engagement with, and practical assistance from, the government.
The charity, which celebrates its tenth anniversary next month, supported 38 families locally throughout 2020 by providing medical equipment for children who were unable to fly to the UK for treatment because of the pandemic.
Mr Crocker said that families who needed support must be given a platform through which to be heard so that the government could understand what they were going through.
‘If you are at home shielding with a sick child, then you are not going to be able to do the simplest of tasks. More practical support is needed to help these families with things like their food shopping, walking their dog or any other daily tasks that we may take for granted but which they cannot risk due to fears of bringing Covid into their house.’
Mr Crocker said the added fear of catching Covid when living in an already-high-risk household had forced many families to adapt their way of living.
‘Many sick children may have been in care, at school or looked after by a relative. Covid restrictions mean parents have to take on the carer role more regularly as their child cannot leave the house,’ he said.
‘Employers need to make sure they are flexible in these circumstances and allow parents to balance their work and children in order to ensure they get the care they need.’
The foundation usually helps families who need to spend time in the UK while a child receives hospital treatment but, due to the pandemic, they changed focus to help more children in Jersey.
This support saw the charity distribute £50,000 to local families in 2002. In one case, the money contributed towards the installation of a lift in a family home to help a disabled child.
While Mr Crocker described last year’s financial support a ‘reasonably good achievement’, he said that he hoped that more families would seek help in 2021.
‘A lot of families were really selfless this year and turned down our help as they felt there were other cases which deserved the funding and support we had available more then they did,’ he said, adding: ‘All charities have been in the same boat and most of our funding sources have dried up due to Covid restrictions but that does not mean families should turn down our help. I do not wish anyone to get sick but I want to make sure we are reaching all the families that need our help.’
The charity’s goal is to give £100,000 to up to 75 families this year.
Mr Crocker said that a marketing expert had volunteered time to join the charity to help create further engagement and reach more people.
‘It is crazy to think there are people out there with sick children who are having to put themselves in stressful financial situations in order to pay for their treatment in the UK,’ he said.
‘We really want to get ourselves out there so that people know they can come to us for help.’
As part of the charity’s tenth anniversary in February, volunteers are organising a virtual fundraising walk, covering the distance from Jersey to Southampton.
For more information, visit gracecrocker.org.
