Harry’s Pals partners with Slater and Gordon

Harry’s Pals offers a unique service which helps parents to negotiate the hugely challenging times after their child receives a devastating diagnosis – something which has a significant impact on their mental health.

The charity offers counselling and therapy to families nationally, as well as delivering short breaks, and also works with hospitals and hospices across the country. Families are also signposted to Harry’s Pals from bigger national charities due to the unique nature of its work.

To support its work and plans for growth, Harry’s Pals has partnered with Slater and Gordon. As well as a financial donation, which will enable the charity to increase the numbers of counselling sessions it delivers, the law firm will hold legal clinics for families to ensure they know their legal rights. It will also use its expertise to deliver training and education sessions for the Harry’s Pals team.

Hayley Charlesworth founded Harry’s Pals after the birth of her son Harry, now aged 10. Harry was diagnosed as having severe brain damage, following two strokes before he was born, but Hayley soon discovered the lack of any support for parents in her position.

“We hear from families daily that they have received a diagnosis but there is absolutely no emotional support, they’re just left to get on with it. There is such a lot to process when you are effectively dealing with the bereavement of the child you thought you would have – I know myself how hard this is,” says Hayley.

“The stress of having a child with life-limiting condition or disability affects every bit of your life, it can impact on your relationship, you survive on adrenaline and very little sleep. It’s really not tenable for parents to deal with everything on their own, and that’s why Harry’s Pals exists.”

The charity continues to grow, and is planning to hold its first parent support group in the near future, and the support of Slater and Gordon will help with that, says Hayley.

“We are so pleased to have such a well-known firm with such credibility supporting a small charity like ours, and the resources families and our team will be able to benefit from are wonderful,” she says.

“The work Slater and Gordon does with families will hopefully also help us to reach more parents in need of emotional support.”

Rosalyn Steeple, principal lawyer at Slater and Gordon, says: “Harry’s Pals is delivering much-needed emotional support for parents who are often traumatised and don’t know where to turn after their child’s diagnosis. As Hayley herself knows, this can be a devastating period in a family’s life, and it’s fantastic they now have Harry’s Pals.

“We are really pleased to partner with such a unique charity, and to support their plans for growth. As lawyers who regularly work with families of children with life-limiting conditions and disabilities, we know the huge impact this has on their lives, and will do all we can to enable Harry’s Pals to deliver their services to as many families as possible.”

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