This Chapter is entitled Important Descriptions and the first important description is the Focus Group.
This is a term that I will use to describe the families that have many or all of the characteristics described in the list from 1 to 9 in the next post.
It is the term that has been used in Bedford Row Family Project since 1999 [1].
As you probably know by now, the website is aimed at people and/or organisations who aspire to protect children (whom, as I already stated, are often hidden) growing up in families in deep distress (who I often consider to be abandoned). The reason why I use words like hidden and abandoned will become clear as this Sub-Chapter is read.
Many children are, of course, hidden until they get into trouble – and then they are suddenly the centre of everyone’s attention!
In courses on child protection we are informed that one of the most common forms of child abuse is neglect.
I believe that the existence of families that have all the characteristics of 1 – 9 in the next post is proof of the destructive power of neglect on a number of families, amounting to a small but significant proportion of our population, that are, as I said above, abandoned by the system.
There is a well-known trilogy of books by a writer named David Pelzer. The first one is entitled A Child Named It and describes his very difficult childhood. The others describe how David survived his childhood and later thrived, forgave his abusers, and how forgiveness contributed to his healing. Anyone reading the books would be appalled at the treatment of David and yet, in my view, it is not too much of an exaggeration to say that this is very like what happens in society at large with the Focus Group!
It might be helpful to state here that in the list of characteristics, some are based on educated [2] opinion and some are directly observable. What I mean by this is, in, say characteristic 1; (remember that this is in the next post) drug dealing, violence, and serious crime is a directly observable fact. On the other hand, the harmful effects of addiction is assumed because they are manifest in members’ behaviours.
Characteristics 4 and 7 (also in the next post) become known because of the problems presented by the families who seek assistance – they might not always be obvious to an casual external observer.
Because protection of children is at the heart of the website, I am using the term families, for reasons explained in the previous Chapter. Of course there will be vulnerable adults that experience some or all of these characteristics, who may live alone. [3].
But even if someone is alone I will propose that an organisation that wishes to make a difference should exhibit some characteristics that a good enough family would possess so that the person will feel at home, like she would in a family!
[1]. Many words such as clients, service users, customers etc. are used to describe people who look for help. I’m not really hung up on any particular term so long as it is respectful. I am indebted, however, to the early pioneers of Bedford Row Family Project who chose the term Focus Group because the Project had a particular focus – i.e. families (or, anyone really) affected by imprisonment. I think that the term suits as it can also include practitioners who may have experienced some of the characteristics in their lives, have grown through those experiences, and are passionate about making a difference!
[2]. Whether formal, informal or experiential.
[3]. I have known (and know) many men, and some women, who have served time in prison and who, on release, have been, or are estranged from their families. Some may be homeless, couch-surfing, sleeping rough, or in very poor living conditions. The Characteristics 1 – 9 also apply to these men and women.