Supporting parents’ wellbeing while shaping the systems around them

We are supporting Parent Action to provide trusted, community-led support for parents and young children in Southwark, while creating routes for the parents to lead change on the issues affecting their families.

Key information

• Partner: Parent Action, Citizens UK
• Amount: £250,000
• Duration: 2 years
• Programme: Children’s mental health

Background

Pregnancy and the first years of a child’s life lay important foundations for their future health and wellbeing. But poverty and racism shape the conditions in which families live and can place additional pressure on parents’ and children’s mental health. At the same time, many families face barriers to accessing formal services, while trusted relationships and social support remain under-resourced.

Parent Action provides a neighbourhood layer of support between families and formal services. It gives parents a safe space to be heard, to build relationships and to learn about their wellbeing, their rights and how to access support. Its work includes weekly MumSpace and Espacio Mamá groups, Parent University courses (ante and post-natal), Black Maternal Voices, a Baby Bank and access to specialist advice on issues including housing and immigration. Health visitors, midwives, Talking Therapies and other services are brought into trusted community settings, helping families to get support earlier and in ways that work for them.

Parent Action is led by and with parents. Many members of the team first became involved by attending groups or volunteering. Parents are supported to grow in confidence, develop leadership skills and take collective action on issues affecting their health, including housing conditions, income insecurity and migration status.

In 2025, Parent Action reached 435 parents and 493 children, supported by 119 active volunteers. Its latest survey found that 97% of respondents said their mental wellbeing had improved and 71% felt more connected to other parents or members of their community. This builds on earlier evaluations showing improvements in maternal mental health, social connection, health literacy and parenting confidence.

As one parent described it: “Finding MumSpace has been an important part of my healing process, overcoming postnatal depression and the challenges of being isolated and disconnected.”

Aim of the partnership

Our funding will support Parent Action to adapt its structure and continue providing early, culturally attuned support for parents and young children. It will help Parent Action to:

• strengthen maternal and family mental health by reducing isolation and connecting families to practical, non-stigmatising support
• build parental leadership, so that parents can identify shared priorities and shape the services and decisions that affect their lives
• create stronger, more connected communities, with trusted routes into health, housing, immigration and other support
• work more closely with Citizens UK and other partners to make the case for community-led family support as part of the wider neighbourhood health system.

Over the next two years, Parent Action will continue its frontline work while building its long-term sustainability and evidence base. Learning will focus on how community organising builds protective factors for maternal and child mental health, how peer networks affect families’ use of services, and what helps parents move from taking part to leading change.

“In an exceptionally challenging funding environment, the support we received from Impact on Urban Health came at a critical time for Parent Action. Their investment has not only enabled us to continue delivering the services that are making a difference to families across Southwark, but has also given us the stability needed to secure our longer-term sustainability. We are now in a position to look beyond survival and towards growth, exploring opportunities to expand our reach and support even more families. The need for connection, practical support and community among local parents has never been greater, and thanks to Impact on Urban Health‘s support, we can continue responding to that need with a greater sense of confidence.” – Parent Action