Marion Turner
Founder of GranPart
Support group for grandparents who do not see their grandchildren, for whatever reason
Iain Stewart Milton Keynes South MP offers GranPart his support & becomes a Patron for the group.
Click on PR page for full story.
There are many grandparents who, due to circumstances very often beyond their control, never get to see their grandchildren.
The reasons can vary considerably. It can be due simply to a falling out amongst family members, sometimes the parents of the children have divorced or have simply moved a long distance away.
In other more serious situations parents of the children involved may suffer drink or drug related problems, the children may be removed for safety reasons, in some cases fostered, meaning grandparents have no legal access to their grandchildren.
The support group was first formed following a difficult situation I found myself in when it was made difficult for me to see my grandson.
Things came to a head soon after his first birthday and I had no contact for nearly three years.
When I started sharing my situation with other people it soon became clear that I wasn't alone, and that many other grandparents were suffering similarly, and like me they found it difficult to share what they were going through with other people who were not suffering.
GranPart is designed simply to give grandparents who are going through this difficult time an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation. In an informal environment we chat and share experiences and can be empathetic and supportive to each other.
DATES FOR OUR INFORMAL GET-TOGETHERS 2020:
Shenley Church End Parish Council,
The Cartshed, 19A Shenley Road
Milton Keynes MK5 6AB
Monday 23rd March
Monday 20th April
Monday 18th May
Monday 29th June
Monday 27th July
Monday 24th August
Monday 28th September
Monday 26th October
Monday 23rd November
Tuesday 15th December
Manning Watts House, Garners Way, Harpole Northants NN7 4DN
Friday 13th March
Friday 17th April
Friday 15th May
Friday 19th June
Friday 17th July
Friday 14th August
Friday 18th September
Friday 16th October
Friday 20th November
Friday 11th December
See contact page for details (click Contact)
Milton Keynes Mayor Cllr Sam Crooks came along to our MK meeting in October.
The Mayor listened intently whilst members told their heart-breaking stories, and at the end said he felt humbled from what he had heard.
He offered his support and will help in creating awareness about GranPart and how it helps so many people.
Grosvenor Shopping Centre
In an effort to promote the group and encourage new members GranPart set up a table in the Grosvenor shopping centre Northampton.
It was good to see people who had seen the advert for the event coming along to find out more.
On Friday August 17th South Northamptonshire Council Chairman Richard Dallyn came along to our meeting at Manning Watts House.
After listening to the group, we explained our plans on promoting GranPart in order to gain greater awareness. Richard was able to offer advice based on his previous experience working in the media.
Northampton MP offers support
We were delighted to welcome Andrew Lewer, Member of Parliament for Northampton South, to a recent meeting at Manning Watts House.
Andrew has picked up the baton from his predecessor and has shown his support when speaking at the recent Westminster debate. He mentioned the good work GranPart are doing to support grandparents and help fight for grandparent and grandchildren's rights.
Over the past few months GranPart have been involved with the Waitrose Community Matters Green Coin Scheme.
Coins collected earned us £245 from the Towcester store and a fantastic £427 from Oakgrove store in Milton Keynes.
Grandchildren alienated from their grandparents is a global epidemic and is considered by leading international experts in the field to be a severe form of child and elder abuse. The dynamics of families being torn apart, often as a result of acrimonious family breakdown or other toxic family events, results in heartbreaking tragedy in the lives of grandchildren and grandparents who lose an important, loving and valuable relationship together. It is estimated that in the UK more than a million grandchildren are denied contact with their grandparents.
An Action Day focusing on ‘Broken Bonds, the Plight of Grandchildren Estranged from their Grandparents’ was held at The Palace of Westminster on September 4th 2019 to call for greater recognition of this life-impacting issue and to ensure legislation ensures the right of a relationship for grandchildren with their grandparents, regardless of the children’s parental situation.
Dame Esther Rantzen, Nigel Huddleston MP, Dr Matthew Offord MP, together with experts in family law and researchers in the field of family psychology spoke about the long-term detrimental effects of such estrangements and the potentially serious long-term consequences on both affected grandchildren and grandparents.
Beth & Roger accompanied Marion to the event
The panel included Solicitor Vanessa LLoyd Platt,
Dame Esther Rantzen & Nigel Huddleston MP
Watch the story of how Mental Illness can cause
grandparents to become estranged
Losing contact with a grandchild
can be heartbreaking
Please click on the Tabs at the top of the page to view our other pages and find out more about GranPart
CONTACT MARION:
01604 830070
07842 146637
If you would like to join our closed FaceBook page please click on the FB logo
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