Helen Vale – The Old Meeting House

In the Summer of 2021 Helen set up a new weekly 'Play & Stay' group at the Old School House in Mansfield. Through her drive and passion, along with partnership working, Helen has made the group a huge success. Now the play and stay session has a team of volunteers and hosts over 30 regulars each week. The impact of this new social opportunity for new parents cannot be underestimated. Participants shared that having babies during the Lockdown was extremely challenging. Pre and Post Natal services were affected and there were no play centres to take their children and gain valuable peer to peer support. Without Helen many young parents would have experienced mental health decline. Some comments from participants; 'My 17month son is like a different child at the group, more confident, independent and we've even noticed his empathetic side.' 'My son was a lockdown baby so all he knew for the first 14 months was the four wall of our house, he loves coming to mix with his new friends'.