West London Action for Children

Peter's page

Peter Stafford

Peter Stafford

My Story

My Motivation

I'm running the London Marathon in April 2025 to raise money and awareness for West London Action for Children (WLAC). WLAC is a fantastic charity who provide free counselling and therapy to the most vulnerable in our society.

Over the past 7 years, the number of children and young people in contact with mental health services has tripled [1]. NHS agencies like CAMHS are overwhelmed and can only provide limited support to children, adolescents and their families who, after a long wait, eventually get access to the service. If you are sufficiently privileged, you have the option to seek private support -- at significant financial cost. If you are not sufficiently privileged, you either wait or attempt to deal with your challenges alone -- at significant emotional cost.

Although the portion of the population seeking mental health support is increasing at a staggering rate[1], many people do not have first-hand experience trying to deal with mental health issues, or with the stresses imposed upon the most vulnerable people within our society. You may be among the fortunate group that has thus far dodged those difficulties.

However, we do all share the collective experience of losing freedom during the Covid pandemic. During that (short) period, our options were limited, levels of stress increased, social isolation was exacerbated, relationships were put under the microscope, and we all reflected upon what we valued most. When those restrictions were lifted, our spirits also lifted and many of us had a greater appreciation for the freedoms we'd taken for granted. The periods of lockdown were hard, but many of us have found, or have been inspired to seek, a better holistic balance in our lives as a result of those challenging periods.

If you're reading this, it's likely that you transitioned out of lockdown into an environment where you felt your well-being rebound. But, there are people within our society who were in a form of lockdown before we'd heard the word covid, and who remain in lockdown now. These are the vulnerable people living among us whose options to improve their well-being are limited, who constantly live under elevated levels of stress, who remain socially disconnected, and whose relationships are frequently under pressure. This environment does not cultivate improved well-being, rather it allows social dysfunction to flourish, often at the expense of children. Many of the young people that WLAC help have no option but to confront situations that nobody should have to face alone.

It is easy to say that our free society offers us all equal opportunities. It is much harder to genuinely believe that to be true. Recent studies have shown that adolescents affected by social inequalities have suffered more from covid than others[2] as have those with weaker family and social support networks[3].

In general, the mental health metrics for the UK population are worsening[4], and the demand for services is greatest among the most deprived citizens[1]. Importantly, the rate of increase of this demand is out-pacing the increase in available support through NHS services. Society therefore relies upon charities like WLAC to support those vulnerable children and families who desperately need help.

Without charities like WLAC, these vulnerable people remain in a state of perpetual lockdown and the associated trauma has multi-generational implications[5]. By supporting WLAC, their excellent therapists and counsellors have a chance to stop the propagation of misfortune across generations. The support WLAC provide cannot undo the past, but by helping children, young people and their families understand, navigate, reframe the considerable and complex challenges they face today, they can make the future a far more inviting place than it would otherwise be.

In the long term, we can influence social reform by engaging with our members of parliament and to put our trust in our politicians to do their jobs. In the short term, we can act now to support established charities like WLAC who have been filling this void for more than a century and whose services have never been more in demand or necessary.

It's easy for me to support WLAC because I believe in the work they do. I know they are a passionate group of professionals who work extremely hard to make a direct positive impact on people's lives. Our society needs charities like WLAC, and I feel very fortunate to be able to donate my time, money and body to support them. Any support that you can also offer would be gratefully received, and will make a very real difference to people that really deserve our help.


References:

About the Event

The London Marathon has become an annual, inspiring and colourful fixture in the world’s sporting calendar since the inaugural race on 29 March 1981: a celebration of fun, fundraising and fancy dress.

Over the years more than a million people have completed the 26.2-mile course – which runs from Blackheath to The Mall, with a spectacular finish in front of Buckingham Palace, showcasing the very best that the capital city has to offer.

What’s more, these participants have raised over a billion pounds for charity and there have been countless amazing tales of human achievement throughout the event’s history – living up to its aim of helping participants ‘to have fun, and provide some happiness and sense of achievement in a troubled world’.

West London Action for Children

Raising for:

West London Action for Children
120%

Funded

  • Target
    £5,000
  • Raised so far
    £6,000
  • Number of donors
    30

My Story

My Motivation

I'm running the London Marathon in April 2025 to raise money and awareness for West London Action for Children (WLAC). WLAC is a fantastic charity who provide free counselling and therapy to the most vulnerable in our society.

Over the past 7 years, the number of children and young people in contact with mental health services has tripled [1]. NHS agencies like CAMHS are overwhelmed and can only provide limited support to children, adolescents and their families who, after a long wait, eventually get access to the service. If you are sufficiently privileged, you have the option to seek private support -- at significant financial cost. If you are not sufficiently privileged, you either wait or attempt to deal with your challenges alone -- at significant emotional cost.

Although the portion of the population seeking mental health support is increasing at a staggering rate[1], many people do not have first-hand experience trying to deal with mental health issues, or with the stresses imposed upon the most vulnerable people within our society. You may be among the fortunate group that has thus far dodged those difficulties.

However, we do all share the collective experience of losing freedom during the Covid pandemic. During that (short) period, our options were limited, levels of stress increased, social isolation was exacerbated, relationships were put under the microscope, and we all reflected upon what we valued most. When those restrictions were lifted, our spirits also lifted and many of us had a greater appreciation for the freedoms we'd taken for granted. The periods of lockdown were hard, but many of us have found, or have been inspired to seek, a better holistic balance in our lives as a result of those challenging periods.

If you're reading this, it's likely that you transitioned out of lockdown into an environment where you felt your well-being rebound. But, there are people within our society who were in a form of lockdown before we'd heard the word covid, and who remain in lockdown now. These are the vulnerable people living among us whose options to improve their well-being are limited, who constantly live under elevated levels of stress, who remain socially disconnected, and whose relationships are frequently under pressure. This environment does not cultivate improved well-being, rather it allows social dysfunction to flourish, often at the expense of children. Many of the young people that WLAC help have no option but to confront situations that nobody should have to face alone.

It is easy to say that our free society offers us all equal opportunities. It is much harder to genuinely believe that to be true. Recent studies have shown that adolescents affected by social inequalities have suffered more from covid than others[2] as have those with weaker family and social support networks[3].

In general, the mental health metrics for the UK population are worsening[4], and the demand for services is greatest among the most deprived citizens[1]. Importantly, the rate of increase of this demand is out-pacing the increase in available support through NHS services. Society therefore relies upon charities like WLAC to support those vulnerable children and families who desperately need help.

Without charities like WLAC, these vulnerable people remain in a state of perpetual lockdown and the associated trauma has multi-generational implications[5]. By supporting WLAC, their excellent therapists and counsellors have a chance to stop the propagation of misfortune across generations. The support WLAC provide cannot undo the past, but by helping children, young people and their families understand, navigate, reframe the considerable and complex challenges they face today, they can make the future a far more inviting place than it would otherwise be.

In the long term, we can influence social reform by engaging with our members of parliament and to put our trust in our politicians to do their jobs. In the short term, we can act now to support established charities like WLAC who have been filling this void for more than a century and whose services have never been more in demand or necessary.

It's easy for me to support WLAC because I believe in the work they do. I know they are a passionate group of professionals who work extremely hard to make a direct positive impact on people's lives. Our society needs charities like WLAC, and I feel very fortunate to be able to donate my time, money and body to support them. Any support that you can also offer would be gratefully received, and will make a very real difference to people that really deserve our help.


References:

About the Event

The London Marathon has become an annual, inspiring and colourful fixture in the world’s sporting calendar since the inaugural race on 29 March 1981: a celebration of fun, fundraising and fancy dress.

Over the years more than a million people have completed the 26.2-mile course – which runs from Blackheath to The Mall, with a spectacular finish in front of Buckingham Palace, showcasing the very best that the capital city has to offer.

What’s more, these participants have raised over a billion pounds for charity and there have been countless amazing tales of human achievement throughout the event’s history – living up to its aim of helping participants ‘to have fun, and provide some happiness and sense of achievement in a troubled world’.