52 Lives

#345 Brian and Liam

Request: Donations / Gifts / Messages

It's Father's Day - and we couldn’t think of a better way to mark the occasion than by helping a dad in need. So this week we are helping a single dad called Brian and his teenage son, Liam.

Liam was living with his mum, until she left him on Brian’s doorstep, saying he had been rude to her and she didn't want him to live with her anymore. 

Liam’s mum has had a long history of abusive relationships and substance use. She neglected Liam to the point where he wasn’t going to school very often and didn’t always have enough clothes to wear or food to eat.

Liam was nominated by his social worker, who said he has lot of anger issues and feels like his mum abandoned him.

Brian is now caring for Liam full-time, but they are struggling. Brian has heart problems, which restricts his ability to work, and he also has depression. Brian and Liam are living in a very rundown one bedroom flat. Brian gave Liam his bedroom, and so he has been sleeping on a sofa in the living room.  

We’d like to help create a nicer home for this father and son, and give them as much support as we can - we'll help to repair / paint the walls, buy a sofa bed so Brian has a more comfortable place to sleep, provide clothing for Liam and also pay for any after school activities he would like to get involved in. 

What We Need

1. Donations: We'll use your donations to paint their flat, buy a sofa bed for Brian, provide clothing for Liam, pay for any after-school activities Liam would like to get involved in...and anything else they need. 100% of what you donate will be used to help them. You can donate online or by text using the details below. 

2. Gift from a wishlist: Brian is a very proud man, and receiving this help from us is not easy for him - which means he has been reluctant to tell us everything they need. So the wishlist this week is a small one. But we have also added gift cards, which we will use to buy other things for their home over the next few weeks, as we find out more about what is needed. 

3. Kind messages: We'd love to send Brian and Liam some kind cards and messages. To send a kind message by email, please write it in the form below (your contact details will not be passed along), or by post to: 52 Lives (Brian), PO Box 3154, Reading, RG1 9AT.

BUY A GIFT

DONATE ONLINE

WHAT WE DID

Thanks to your donations and gifts, we have been able to repair and repaint their flat, buy a sofa bed so Brian has a more comfortable place to sleep, provide gift vouchers so Liam can go shopping for some new clothes, provide more furniture, towels, bedding, lamps, toiletries and some support with some bills.

Brian sent this message for me to pass along to you all… “I am writing this message to everyone at 52 Lives and all the kind and generous people whose donations were given to Liam and myself which has made our life that little bit more comfortable. And for renewing my faith that there are kind and caring people still out there. I'm not very good at writing letters but from the bottom of my heart, a big thank you to all of you for what you all have done for us. Kind regards Brian.”