Features

Spotlight on the Magpie Project – helping families in East London

Practice
What one project is doing in a deprived area of London to support mothers in poverty and crisis. By Caroline Vollans

The dire housing problem in many parts of the UK means that thousands of mothers and their young children live in abject conditions. One of the most affected areas is Newham in East London. This borough has the most people in temporary accommodation in the country. Many are single mothers who have no access to public funds.

In 2017, a group of 15 Newham mothers, grandmothers, daughters and members of the public took it upon themselves to do something. The group had one room and just £600 to spend on a pilot – it was here that The Magpie Project began.

Jane Williams, CEO and founder, says, ‘The main aim of the Magpie Project is to make sure that every child within Newham and surrounding boroughs get their basic needs met no matter what their status, what their nationality, what their mother’s status.’

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