Our mission
Family Action supports people through change, challenge or crisis. It’s what we’ve done for over 150 years. We protect children, support young people and adults and offer direct, practical help to families and communities.
We see first-hand the power of family to shape lives, for better or worse, so we speak up for the importance of family in national and local policymaking, amplify family voices and represent the changing needs of families in the UK today.
Our vision is of a society that understands the importance and power of family as a foundation for individual futures and connected, resilient communities.
Our vision and ethos
At Family Action, our vision is of a society that understands the importance and power of family as a foundation for individual futures and connected, resilient communities.
Because family is the key to positive futures, for individuals and society: whether it’s recognising the value of family networks and support in the present or understanding the impact of trauma from the past, understanding the power of family to shape futures at every age is vital.
We know, first-hand, that our early experiences of family stay with us, for better or worse. That’s why we work across the lifespan, with people of all ages, so that we protect children today, safeguard futures tomorrow and support people going through hard times in the here and now.
We believe that the path in front of us connects back to our past, so it’s never too early, but also never too late to change things. Intervening as early as possible is key to safeguarding children and promoting their development. Love and experiences, good and bad, shape our brains dramatically in early childhood, but the process doesn’t stop aged five. We are all capable of change throughout life and the power of family extends throughout our lives.
We believe there are many ways to be a family – it’s relationships that matter. Family should be safe and supportive, loving and protective – beyond that there is no blueprint for what a family ‘should’ be. Too many people have been badly hurt in the past by damaging ideas about the ‘right’ way to be a family.
Everyone deserves dignity, respect and an equal chance at life. At Family Action we believe no-one should feel forgotten or be left behind. It’s why we work with people through all sorts of change, challenge and crisis and with some of the most vulnerable in our society: those who are in or have experienced state ‘care’ systems, those whose experience of family is traumatic and painful, and families who are living in or close to poverty.
Our values
We support people at the most vulnerable moments of their lives and invest in a values-driven culture that seeks to ensure we do so with sensitivity and respect and with a practical focus on reducing inequalities, tackling poverty and increasing resilience.
Our values are central to us. We are a can-do organisation, we strive for excellence, we maintain a clear people focus and we have mutual respect for everyone we work for and with. We recruit against these values, appraise our staff against them, ensure that our practice is continually informed by them and measure our impact against them.
Our context and approach
As it was at the time of our founding over 150 years ago, a key context for much of Family Action’s work is hardship and poverty. This has been intensified in recent years by the cumulative effects of austerity, global pandemic, war and the continuing cost-of-living crisis. We find ourselves living and working in an increasingly divided society.
We recognise systemic problems of poverty, inequality, inequity and loneliness; that some family stories start out much tougher than others and that effecting change is always harder for those facing multiple sources of pressure and disadvantage.
We base the development of our services on a realistic assessment of the strengths of our organisation, our ability to maximise our benefit to society, both in our own capacity and through partnership, and on what we learn from what families tell us about their daily lived experience.
We have built on our long legacy of family support to establish a dynamic, holistic and strengths-based approach to work with people in need, whatever their background or circumstances, whatever has happened in the past and whatever is happening now in the present.
As we continue to expand nationally and develop communities of reflective practice, we can increasingly transform our frontline experience into an evidence base of what works when placing family, and their voices, at the heart of support work in our communities.
Supporting people through change, challenge and crisis.
We care deeply about the children of today, the adults of tomorrow and all of us here now; the children we were and the people we could be in future, with the right support. And that’s what we strive to offer: the right support at the right time – for every family in need and anyone who is, or ever has been, without the support of a family or familial networks.
Through every age and stage of life, we have specialist and practical support for those in need. Community FOOD Clubs help with food and essentials; perinatal, parenting and post-adoption support gives families the best start in life, while our family support, wellbeing, helpline and counselling services help people shape – or reshape – their futures for themselves.
Find a local serviceAcross all our services, we focus on:
- Creating opportunity and life chances
- Promoting health, wellbeing and connectedness
- Supporting families through all life stages and major changes
- Helping to build and sustain safe, supportive relationships
- Amplifying family stories and the voices of families today