Pegs is a Shropshire based charity (Shrewsbury) supporting parents who have been abused by there own children. There referals are going up and up, but funding is not easy to come by and ironically very little of there funding comes from Shropshire itself even though thats one of the places they support the community. They are having a special event to mark there 5th birthday, so we called in to find out more.
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00:00So we're here at PEGS in Shrewsbury and Michelle, hello, how are you doing?
00:04I'm not too bad thanks, thanks for coming out again.
00:06No worries, so just remind us, I know, but just remind us of who PEGS is and what it does.
00:13So PEGS stands for Parental Education and Growth Support and we provide support to
00:17parental figures from across the UK who are experiencing abusive behaviours from their child.
00:22And you're celebrating five years.
00:25I know, I can't believe we're five.
00:27But it's flown by hasn't it really?
00:29It's gone so quick and to think that when I first started PEGS
00:33I didn't even know what it was going to be.
00:34I started it with a Google document and an idea and I just think
00:38eight and a half thousand parents later look at what we've achieved, it's absolutely incredible.
00:43Eight and a half thousand parents you've been involved in support.
00:46That's who we've supported.
00:48So it's not easy is it running a group like this, you know, I mean,
00:54funding, you'd think the good work you're doing, people would be
00:57bending over to give you money and support you.
00:59That's not necessarily the case.
01:01No, I mean, we're no different than lots of other services.
01:03Funding's tight, we get it.
01:05But yeah, we are a funded service.
01:09So obviously if we're not funded, then the service isn't there.
01:12We have been really fortunate that the National Lottery have provided three years of funding.
01:18That's sadly coming to an end soon.
01:20And we've had other police crime commissioners in other areas,
01:22such as the Arbiter and David Powers, been able to provide support for us.
01:26And we've had little bits and pieces right here.
01:28I mean, the Wynn Foundation have been incredible.
01:30They're a local organization that gave us,
01:34very kindly donated some funding to us to enable us to run outreach.
01:37So yeah, I mean, we're no different than anyone else.
01:40But for a non-for-profit that provides such valuable support and work,
01:44especially within the county, you know, if we don't have the money,
01:48we don't have the service.
01:49It's as simple as that.
01:50And ironically, you know, based here in Shrewsbury, like you say, working within the county.
01:54But ironically, other than the Wynn group,
01:57you're not really getting money from the area, are you really?
02:00No, I mean, that's what is so interesting.
02:02So we are the only specialist service in the area.
02:06But at the moment, we're not funded specifically for this area by any service.
02:12So we hope that will change.
02:13We're always open to working in partnership.
02:16I think collaboration is key here.
02:18But yeah, it can be tough, right?
02:21And you're not seeing your workload diminish.
02:24Just talk us in on some of the referrals and, you know,
02:27what compared to this time next year, where you're at.
02:30Oh my gosh.
02:30So we were really surprised last year that we saw a 70% increase in referrals from the year before.
02:37So yeah, we were like, what's this year going to be like?
02:40And already at the start of March,
02:42we were 40% increase on referral rate from the same period of time from last year,
02:47which is incredibly sad.
02:49But again, we're a small but mighty team.
02:52And we desperately need to grow our team.
02:54And without having more boots on the ground,
02:57you know, we are at risk of the whole demand and capacity situation again.
03:03So how is it you?
03:04So you help someone then, like kind of what can you actually do for someone?
03:10That's a really good question.
03:11So from a service perspective, at the moment, regardless of where you live,
03:16you can access seven daily practitioner led sessions run by our incredible team.
03:22Sometimes you see me and we'll be able to provide support, guidance,
03:26emotional and practical support in lots of different ways.
03:29We run an online peer support group that's closed.
03:32The parents, again, can have that interaction, emotional support,
03:36access different documents, safety plans, support, things like that.
03:40And then we also run various workshops and programmes,
03:43all based on empowerment, not based on parenting,
03:46because child to parent abuse is not a parenting issue.
03:50And then we're funded specifically for one to one outside of the county.
03:54So yeah, there's lots of different ways we can get involved if we're the right service.
03:58We do say that the behaviours that the parent or parental figures
04:02experiencing is abusive and not challenging,
04:04because there is a distinct difference.
04:07But people can find out more on our website.
04:09We've got lots of free resources that anybody can access anyway.
04:13And the team would love for someone to get in touch if they want to know more.
04:16And, you know, it's something we don't hear too much of, really.
04:19But it's there, isn't it?
04:20There are a lot of parents that are being abused, aren't there, by their children?
04:26Definitely.
04:26I mean, we're still in our infancy in terms of research.
04:29So, you know, what we and what experts are putting it around 3% of the UK population.
04:35I mean, to bring that back a little bit locally,
04:37what we do know that in Shropshire last year,
04:39I think it was around 200 referrals just from Shropshire.
04:41I think it was around 145, 150 from Telford alone.
04:47So it's there.
04:48You know, these parent figures are people that you know.
04:50They're your neighbours, they're your family members,
04:52they're your friends, they're your colleagues.
04:53They're living in our communities.
04:55What we need to do is get comfortable having uncomfortable discussions.
04:59We need to start asking the questions.
05:01Because we're not talking about behaviours where,
05:03you know, it might seem like typical child behaviour or teenage behaviour.
05:07We're talking about extreme behaviours here that,
05:09sadly for some people, does result in death.
05:12Yeah.
05:14So on to a brighter note.
05:15So you're going to have a little bit of a gathering for your fifth birthday.
05:19And just fill us in on what's happening and when's it happening.
05:22Oh, do you know what?
05:22We turn five on the 23rd of March.
05:26And on the 21st of March,
05:28we're having an in-person event here in our Shrewsbury office.
05:31We have got people from the high sheriffs come in, for example.
05:35Lots of local organisations and individuals that support
05:38me individually, but also the wider team.
05:41We're having, you know, drinks.
05:44Not alcoholic.
05:45Just going to explain it's 10 o'clock in the morning, Steve.
05:47I know where you were going.
05:48Cake, biscuits.
05:50An opportunity to get to meet some of the team.
05:52And we're also going to be sharing some messages
05:55because we've had some celebratory messages
05:59from people outside of Shropshire.
06:03Joining in the celebrations and wishing us well.
06:05So we'll be sharing some of those videos and recordings as well.
06:09Well, happy fifth birthday, Michelle.
06:11And thank you to you and your team for all the hard work you do
06:15in, you know, challenging circumstances.
06:17Thank you very much.
06:18Cheers, thank you.