Company: PEGS, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK
Nomination Submitted by: Zen Communications
Company Description: PEGS is a social enterprise which focuses on the often-hidden issue of Child to Parent Abuse, with four core aims: supporting parents (for free, regardless of the age of their child - including adult offspring), training frontline professionals, influencing regional and national policy, and raising awareness.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Woman of the Year - Government or Non-Profit
 Nomination Title: Michelle John
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2020 of the nominated woman, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below:
- Outline the nominee's achievements since July 1 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 187 words used.
- Supporting more than 2,000 parents in the first two years of PEGS launching.
- Creating a CPA identification tool now used by numerous organisations across the UK.
- Launching bespoke workshops and programmes to empower parents, and training to upskill professionals.
- Partnering with the Department for Work and Pensions to create an Employer Covenant (only the fourth of its kind ever in the UK).
- Backing in the form of a substantial grant from the National Lottery.
- Partnerships and ongoing networking with key organisations: Domestic Abuse Commissioner's Office, NHS Safeguarding, Social Care England, Frontline, regional domestic abuse charities, police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners, social care teams etc.
- Appearances on national news (ITV News, Channel 5), within newspapers (Times, Telegraph, i, Daily Mail etc), industry media (Police Professional, SEN Magazine, The MJ), and online.
- Social media following of well over 6,000. Plus closed peer support group with more than 700 parents in it.
- Hosted first of its kind Child to Parent Abuse Conference in 2022 and Progressing PEGS awareness event in 2021.
- Currently organising first-ever CPA Awareness Day.
- Briefly describe the nominated individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 195 words used.
When Michelle John experienced Child to Parent Abuse, it was the first time she'd been aware of the issue - despite a background in family law and domestic abuse - which shows how hidden this type of abuse is within our society. She also became acutely aware of the lack of support services in the UK for parents, carers and guardians, despite researchers estimating that upwards of 3% of households are impacted by CPA.
So Michelle decided to be the change she wanted to see - setting up social enterprise PEGS in late 2019 and launching services the following spring. From nothing except a determination to improve the lives of other families, she's now got a successful CIC which supports thousands of parents, trains frontline professionals, helps key organisations launch policies and practices, and raises awareness. Michelle is now one of the leading CPA campaigners in the UK, has amassed thousands of social media followers, and is regularly asked to speak at events and contribute to top-level decision making. The organisation has just been awarded £300,000 from the National Lottery to help them expand and support even more parents over the next three years.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 145 words used.
It's important to remember that all of this has been achieved since launching services in March 2020, against the backdrop of a global pandemic, reduced grants and funding available for the third sector, and a generally difficult time within the economy and business world. There are very few organisations which focus solely on Child to Parent Abuse - hence why Michelle wanted to do so in the first place - PEGS is unique in that all parent services are free regardless of the financial situation of the family, it's led by someone who has lived experience, and they offer support regardless of the age of the child. As an example, another CPA specific organisation within the UK offers a 20-minute free session and charges thereafter, and only works with families until the child is 18 (or slightly older if they have a special educational need).
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