"Once you become part of Parent Action, you don’t just receive a service — you become part of a community."
"Once you become part of Parent Action, you don’t just receive a service — you become part of a community."
Pete Brierley, Director at Citizens UK, will be running the Paddock Wood Half Marathon on 8th March 2026 to fundraise for Parent Action, a community of parents and a Citizens UK project, working to build communities and take action on the issues that matter. In this blog, he reflects on how vital Parent Action is to local parents and their families, building connection, community and hope.
Just before Christmas, I sat in a room filled with toys, buggies and baby essentials at the Salvation Army and Parent Action baby bank in Camberwell. It’s a vital practical resource for parents who, in the middle of the cost-of-living crisis, simply can’t afford pushchairs, clothes or toys for their children.
But what struck me most wasn’t just the practical support, it was the way Parent Action provides connection, relationship, support and hope for parents in Southwark. It's been proven to be as effective for supporting Mums as CBT, with 80% of high anxiety mothers improving to below the clinical threshold.
I heard the story of a single mum who didn’t know where to turn for help for herself and her baby. Overwhelmed, exhausted and isolated, she had been turning up at A&E because she didn’t know where else to go. She was referred to Parent Action and connected with Mena, one of the incredible staff team.
This brave parent spoke openly about her struggles with mental health, exhaustion and isolation. She said she was scared to attend Parent Action for the first time, but Mena had spoken to her on the phone and met her at the door. When she arrived, she said:
“Mena gave me a hug and I realised I was going to be ok.”
Fast forward and this mum is now connected with other parents, more confident in her parenting, and accessing health services, advice and support through the NHS via Parent Action. She is no longer facing things alone.
Once you become part of Parent Action, you don’t just receive a service — you become part of a community.
"But what struck me most wasn’t just the practical support, it was the way Parent Action provides connection, relationship, support and hope for parents in Southwark." - Pete Brierley, Director at Citizens UK
In Radical Help, Hilary Cottam argues that too many public services are built on a scarcity mindset: there isn’t enough time, space, money or capacity; waiting lists grow and people are treated as problems to be managed. By contrast, organisations like Parent Action work with an abundance mindset. Parents aren’t seen as passive recipients of help, but as people with skills, strengths and potential. When support is built around relationships rather than transactions, capacity actually grows.
That’s why Parent Action has such an extraordinary number of volunteers. Parents don’t just attend sessions; they help run them. They bring cooking skills, gardening skills, and care for one another.
We are Parent Action.
We are parents working together to build communities and take action on the things that matter. We want parents to have a place where they belong. From wanting support with your mental health, to making new friends, to taking action on poor housing.
Crucially, parents who begin to thrive through Parent Action are then supported to tackle the systemic issues that brought them there in the first place. Parents are campaigning for better access to healthcare for migrants and refugees, improved housing conditions for families in temporary accommodation, and fairer funding for community-led services like Parent Action itself.
The meeting I attended before Christmas was a roundtable with funders and partners, reminding them why this work matters. Impact on Urban Health has been an extraordinary partner for nearly a decade, supporting this pioneering model that combines peer support, community organising, social prescribing and health prevention. Parent Action is now working to secure the next phase of funding.
In the meantime, because this work is so impactful and because I remember how hard the early years were as a parent of twins, I’m running a half-marathon to raise £2,000 to support Parent Action. To put it in perspective, this amount of money would last less than five minutes in Accident & Emergency, yet it can fund multiple Parent Action sessions, reaching hundreds of families. This money will help fund sessions run by staff like Mena, so that parents like this mum can get the hug they need, the community that helps them thrive, and the support that turns struggling into confidence and confidence into leadership.