Interviewer

So, first of all, could I ask your name?

Lindy Pearman

My name’s Lindy. Lindy Pearman.

Interviewer

And could I ask which group we are talking about today?

Lindy Pearman

Talking about the Avenue Children’s Contact Centre.

Interviewer

Excellent. And Lindy, could I ask how old you are?

Lindy Pearman

You can. I’m nearly 70.

Interviewer

Thank you. It’s lovely to see you today. So what got you involved in this organisation?

Lindy Pearman

This particular organisation is partly because I am with Avenue Church, so I heard about it quite quickly. But also I used to work, I’ve had lots of various jobs, worked at Southend Council, but one of them was with social services. One of them was first contact, and actually typed up kind of this contact with parenting and the children. So it was interesting for me, I’ve always been involved with children, I volunteer with children, I help children. I actually work as a carer with a dementia home. So I do now do both ends of the spectrum, but I just wanted to see the other side, and help these children that I’d always been typing. So that’s how I got involved.

Interviewer

So you, you had this idea about the service? Yes. Has it actually been like you expected it to be or how have you found it?

Lindy Pearman

Well, obviously some of it was a bit more rigid. This is a bit more relaxed. But yes, I mean I’ve seen all sorts of different people here, so some kind of come in, and are not happy, and the children get that feeling, and therefore they’re not enjoying it. And others,  just come in, and you just see it grow week by week, and you think that is great. And when you hear that they are moving on, parents are actually talking or whatever is going to happen next, and they don’t come to see us anymore. But we always have that good feeling in our hearts for that. So yes, I’ve felt as though typing it, and hearing it, and looking at those people. So we do look at them and think, why are you here? Why does it come to this? So yes, the other side of it is slightly different to what I was typing.

Interviewer

Okay. And it sounds, I can see the smile on your face, it sounds like this is something you really enjoy.

Lindy Pearman

I love children, yes. And to make children’s lives better is, is just wonderful. I mean I’ve now got six grandchildren, and they’re from America, and here Southend, and Cheshire, and it is just lovely seeing children grow and I was one of those people, as I’ve said to you, I don’t live in Southend now all of the time.  I live abroad and I made sure through Covid that I saw my own grandchildren develop and grow up. And here it’s the same. You see those children develop, and get that relationship with their parents, the parent they don’t live with, which is always, I feel sad.

Interviewer

And could I ask, how long have you volunteered here?

Lindy Pearman

Oh, I don’t know, quite a few years now, a long time. I’m now actually volunteered also to go on the committee I think last year, or the year before, when there was a gap.

Interviewer

But it, it feels like you’ve got a great rapport between you as volunteers. Like you all get on.

Lindy Pearman

I think we have, I mean obviously some of us are from the church so we know each other. And then Southend is now a big city, with a city title, and yet there’s a lady there who I used to work with at Porters, and they are all residents in town. So our paths crossed again and that was a paid job. This is a voluntary job, so yes. But we do get on well together. And there’s obviously staff here today that you haven’t seen that volunteer and we, there’s no feelings at all. We all bond together.

Interviewer

It’s excellent. Is there anything that you’d like to tell me today that you haven’t had the chance to say so far?

Lindy Pearman

No. I mean at the moment I believe the courts are changing their attitude and as I said to you, this is a really quiet day and it would be a shame that if this stops because we kept going through Covid, we had very strict regulations, and it’s sad enough that a child doesn’t see that parent for two weeks or in a five week month, three weeks. So for it to close. And then maybe courts will change their ruling and then it’s needed again. It’s always hard to start up again. So that would be a very sad day for all of us,

Interviewer

I think as just a, a citizen in the community. From my point of view, places like this exists to help families. That’s what they’re here for. Yes? They’re not here because the court thinks they should exist. They’re here because actually sometimes it’s really difficult for parents to get on. It is. And sometimes people like grandparents can get left out. Yes. And and this place means that children just have that opportunity to maintain those relationships, and that’s what seems to be important.

Lindy Pearman

We have had a grandparent here and I’ve had an ex-brother-in-law because I am married twice, who was like bribed in like, “well if you don’t do this…, and your grandparents won’t see that child”, and all these things. And again, it’s the cousins to see each other, and second siblings, half sisters, all that. It’s, it’s a shame just to cut it off and no one really looks at the child and asks deeper that particular child. “What, how does this affect you in the wider sense of the family and being a grandparent.” I think we give a different relationship to the parent. And they need grandparents as well.

Interviewer

Absolutely. I always think grandparents are more patient, frankly. Anyway, it’s lovely to meet you and thank you ever so much. Thanks.