LEO’S, a Teesside-based neonatal and baby loss charity has been awarded a significant amount of funding from the Woodsmith Foundation to secure its future.
The charity, which saw the closure of its neonatal trauma counselling service in late 2024, has been working closely with the Woodsmith Foundation to continue its crucial work in the region, and bring a new offer to help generate income.
This crucial investment has given the team the opportunity to continue to deliver its award-winning neonatal mental health peer support service within Redcar and Cleveland, with new community offerings such as walk and talks and coffee shop get-togethers, neonatal forest school in Errington Woods as well as continuing its recently hugely successful early development support group, Leo’s Little Learners.
Alongside this, the charity is now able to plan and deliver a passion project that’s been waiting in the wings for a number of years.
Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Lottie King, shared: “For years we have tried to get funding to build and deliver a neonatal mental health training package, and finally, thanks to this incredible funding, we can begin working on something we’ve been waiting so long for.
In 2019 we launched the world’s first neonatal mental health awareness week, and thanks to campaigns by our friends at The Smallest Things & Bliss who recently secured the Neonatal Care and Leave Pay and the work of Dr Frankie Harrison at Miracle Moon, people are becoming more aware of neonatal care and the lasting impact it has.”
The training will be under-pinned by cutting-edge neuroscience and Polyvagal Theory and has already secured two world-renowned experts in this field, and a leading campaigner within the UK to be part of it.
Aimed at healthcare professionals and those working with neonatal families, the training package will bring in additional income to support the longevity of the charity.
Lottie continued: “As with everything at Leo’s, lived experience is at the heart of why we do what we do, and the really exciting part of this training package is that everyone participating will have lived experience of neonatal care.
“The aim for this training package is to help health care professionals, not just in the UK, but globally, understand the very real long-term impacts that the chronic stress and trauma has on families who endure neonatal care, and how to support them.
“We are truly grateful for the funding from the Woodsmith Foundation, not only for the opportunity to bring a passion project to life, but to help our vital work here on the ground in Teesside continue.”
Leah Swain, Chief Executive Officer at The Woodsmith Foundation, said “Leo’s offers a vital service to neonatal families across Redcar and Cleveland who often don’t have anywhere to turn to support them through some of the most traumatic experiences. We’re pleased to give this support to Leo’s as part of our approach to supporting local community delivery which improves people’s lives.