News

Forum welcomes 1,000th member

25th July 2014

  • The Sheffield Parent Carer Forum has signed up its 1,000th member. The charity was set up in 2008 to bring together parents of disabled children to support each other, share information and influence policy. It is now one of the largest parent carer forums in the country.

    Free to join, the Forum offers members regular postal and email newsletters, family events, coffee mornings, information sessions and a free information and signposting service.

    The 1,000th member is Katherine Walsh, pictured here with her son James (7). They live in Millhouses together with dad Steve and brother Will (2).

    Katherine said, “I am very honoured to be the 1,000th member of the Parent Carer Forum. Since joining the Forum, I have already met some wonderful people, attended a coffee morning and accessed their telephone support. I was so grateful that I was not only pointed in the right direction, but all the supporting information I needed very quickly arrived in the post.”

    Katherine’s son James has a medical condition called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia; this means he is unable to make the stress hormone cortisol and requires medication four times a day. Katherine explained, “He was very poorly when he was first born, but early diagnosis saved his life and he has grown into a lovely, lively, fun-loving 7-year-old who we are all proud of and love very much.”

    “As any parent of a child with a chronic medical condition and indeed all parents know, there are worrying and stressful times when it’s great to see a friendly face, hear a kind word and chat to other mums and dads in similar situations”, said Katherine.

    Membership is free for parent carers and professionals; to join, simply fill in our online form.