Find out what Billy-Jo’s been up to over the summer, from Support Group BBQs to festivals of thousands. Read about the success of our summer fundraising campaign, Walk with Me, and be among the first to access our new Christmas resources!

Welcome back to our South East and London update – we’re excited to share with you what we’ve been up to over the summer, and what’s coming up in the months ahead.

September has seen the last few donations roll in from our summer fundraising campaign, Walk with me. On average, children in care are moved 18+ miles because there are not enough local carers. Every child and young person in care should be able to stay in their local area if it’s safe for them to do so. We’re working to find local homes for local children and teenagers so that no one is put in this position. This summer, we wanted to stand with them; we said we would walk with them. Amazingly, individuals, families, groups of friends and whole churches laced up their shoes and took to the streets, trails and mountains to demonstrate their commitment to children in care by walking, rolling, scooting – any kind of moving! – around 18 miles, raising vital funds for Home for Good in the process. At the time of writing this update, we’ve raised nearly £20,000 – isn’t that incredible! And we know of a few more who are still to take on their walk, including our own Regional Lead Billy-Jo who! We want to say an enormous THANK YOU to everyone who walked with us this summer, and to all who donated. Your support will make a huge difference for children in care.

The team have been busy over the summer months. Billy-Jo kicked off her summer with a Summer BBQ with the North Hampshire Support Group. Over 70 people came along to share food and fun together. Billy-Jo was also at Spark in the Park this year, where she met fostering and adoptive families for a week of activities, and spoke at All Souls Family Camp with brilliant Champion and foster carer Katie, her husband and her best friend who forms part of their support group. It was a really encouraging time together.

It was brilliant to be at Greenbelt Festival this year over the August bank holiday weekend, where we were joined by over 11,000 others to be inspired, challenged and encouraged around faith, arts and justice. We had a busy space in the Greenbelt Takeaway; where nearly 200 new people signed up to our Home for Good Digest (which, by the way, you can sign up to here if you’re not already subscribed to receive news, updates and points for prayer!). If you’re reading this as one of our newest friends made at Greenbelt, welcome! We’re so glad you’re here. Our primary ask at Greenbelt was to invite people to contact their MP, asking them to prioritise teenagers in care. We collected 244 postcards to send to MPs, representing constituencies all over the UK, demonstrating really clearly and loudly that this is something the Church wants to see addressed. We hosted a solidarity session at the festival, as well as a drinks reception, both of which were well-attended, and we had the exciting opportunity to join David and Carrie Grant for their session in the Pagoda venue where they discussed their new book and engaged in discussion around family. Amazingly, we left Greenbelt with eight new supported lodgings enquiries, as well as seven for fostering and one for adoption – how encouraging to think of the impact this will have on children and teenagers in care. Billy-Jo shares one particular highlight from Greenbelt:

“Whilst at Greenbelt, I bumped into a woman I knew I’d met before. It took us a while to figure it out, but it turned out I had met her back in 2019 at Spark in the Park. Back then, she was just beginning to explore adoption, and I had prayed with her. It was so special to be reunited four years later at Greenbelt – and even more special to be introduced to her since-adopted daughter.”

Billy-Jo is currently co-leading one of our online Foundations courses, with the support of a number of incredible Champions. It’s such a privilege to be part of someone’s journey in this way as they explore fostering, adoption or supported lodgings. We have another course beginning later in the Autumn; find out more here. It’s been brilliant to welcome a number of new Champions and Volunteers into the network this summer, as well as work with some volunteers seeking to set up a Home for Good Peer Support Group in Portsmouth. To find our more about volunteer opportunities at Home for Good, click here.

You may have seen on our social media or website that we recently began a search for a new role, London Coordinator. Billy-Jo will be handing over this (huge) element of her work to the new member of the team, so wanted to take this opportunity to share her thanks to those of you in London who have helped her develop the work there so well. It’s because of the wealth of opportunity in London and the work that’s already been done that’s necessary to now bring someone in who can focus solely on this area, and we’re excited for what’s to come. Bily-Jo isn’t going anywhere, but will be drawing her time and focus now towards Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire, which I’m sure you’ll agree is enough to keep her busy!

We’d love to draw your attention to another new role in London; Home for Good is working with Safe Families to recruit a London Church Relationships Manager. This new role is central to the shared vision we have to see the work of both Home for Good and Safe Families grow in London, as we both believe that the Church has a unique role in creating and sustaining stable homes and wrap-around communities for children and young people who need them. This is a really exciting new opportunity – if you think you could be our new London Church Relationships Manager, or would like to find out what other job opportunities there currently are at Home for Good, visit our website.

As we look towards the Autumn, there are a few things we’d love to make you aware of. Billy-Jo will be at New Wine Leaders Network Meeting, and will be speaking at Connect Church in Maidstone with a Champion in early October. Billy-Jo is a licensed Lay Minister and will be attending her Diocese LLM conference, too. In November, she’ll be addressing Erith Deanery. We just love visiting churches, so if you would like a Home for Good speaker to visit your church, please visit our website and complete the Book a speaker form. If you’d like to find out more about what it means to be a Home for Good Church, you can read more here.

While the summer may be drawing to a close, our resolve to secure better for children and young people remains strong. We know that this ‘back to school’ season can be really challenging for some children and young people with care experience; for some, it can be one of the hardest times of year. That’s why we’ve launched our Back-to-school fundraising campaign. With your support, we can find more foster carers, adoptive families and supported lodgings hosts – because it’s easier to go back to school when you know you’ve something stable to come home to. Donate today and invest in the lives of children and young people. Find out more here.

Finally, despite the recent heatwaves, Home for Good have started to put plans in place for this year’s Christmas resource package! We are so excited to share with you a brand new, free and flexible package of all-age resources for your church to enjoy this Christmas season. A promise of hope includes a brand new video, some inspiration for a talk or sermon, congregational prayers and activities for children and youth groups. The Christmas resource package will be released later in the Autumn, but you can sign up now to register your interest. As soon as the resources are available, you will immediately be sent a link to sign up to view and download them. Simply complete the form here.

What can I be praying for?

We would love you to stand with us in prayer as we continue to work to find a home for every child who needs one in London and the South East.

• Please pray that we will see more homes found for children waiting in London and the South East.
• Give thanks for all who supported our Walk with me campaign!
• Pray for our volunteers as they support and carry out the vision of Home for Good, and for new volunteers as they come on board.
• Pray for those who made enquiries at Greenbelt as they begin their journey, and for the MPs who will receive postcards from us; let’s pray boldly that we will see change as a result.
• Please pray that our Christmas resources will be a blessing to churches this year.

Check out our prayer resource, Let’s pray, for additional thoughts, inspiration and points to guide your prayers.

Are there any events happening soon that I can attend?

Head over to our London and South East England page to find out what is happening in the area and find all the local support groups.

How do I get in touch with a member of the Home for Good team in London and South East England?

Billy-Jo O'Leary heads up Home for Good's work in the South East of England and she would love to hear from you! You can contact her through the button below.

Email Billy-Jo