Enough space to stay

Mandy’s love for her children and grandchildren knows no bounds.

She recently took on the full-time care of her three grandchildren, joining her and three of her children.

It wasn’t an easy transition to accommodate seven people in a four bedroom home. But Mandy welcomed her grandchildren with open arms as their mother was not able to care for them. The home became severely overcrowded. Mandy’s son and daughter slept in the living room to provide space for the grandchildren. Mandy shared her room with her youngest grandchild.

There was a lot of friction and tension — the family couldn’t enjoy simple things like a meal at the table or their own privacy. This weighed heavily on the older children, who were at breaking point.

“It got to the point where something had to give; someone had to move out. The thought of having to tell my own children to leave was horrible.” Mandy recalls.

The situation was becoming unbearable, but the eldest children (aged 18-23) were in no financial position to move out of the family home. They were going to have to leave with nowhere to go.

It was at this point that a two-bedroom Kids Under Cover studio was built. Mandy’s sons moved into the studio, giving Mandy and her daughter their bedrooms back. Her three grandchildren were given their own space in the last two bedrooms.

“I can’t even put into words how it has changed the situation for our family. I look back now and I don’t even know how we survived without the studio.”

“Without it, my children would have had to leave with nowhere to go or my grandchildren would have been placed in foster care,” Mandy explains.

Mandy has a few words for our wonderful supporters: “Without you, a lot of these kids would be separated from their families. You make it possible to keep families together. You are all amazing.”

* The models pictured are not connected to this story.