JO and Alan Parsons came to a meeting of Ross Rotary Club on October 23 to talk about In Their Shoes. They described it as a recently established charity which is based in Ross and focuses support on children aged zero to 16, who are at risk of becoming disengaged from education and socially isolated due to poor mental health.

Jo explained that In Their Shoes was established in February 2017 by her and Alan who, as adoptive parents had experienced the journey of having children with a mental health concern. She said that as a result of often difficult experiences in accessing treatment, assessment and support services for them and their children, they were personally moved to set up a charity in which other parents, carers and family members could find a friendly, welcoming person to offer support and guidance. Both Jo and Alan were at pains to point out In Their Shoes is not a counselling agency and doesn't pretend to be.

They said what it is is a support group offering fun activities for children to participate in and, while gaining support from peers, have an opportunity to be who they are in a welcoming accepting environment. They added that it is a place for parents to share experiences and where people can feel universally accepted rather than labelled.

Alan concluded by saying that the aims of the charity are to raise awareness children's mental health problems, to establish support groups, to provide a phone and an in person conversation facility and to develop their interactive days, which are currently held a the Ryefield Centre.

After a number of interesting questions and enlightening responses from Jo and Alan, Ross Rotary President Richard Williams was delighted to present a donation from club to support the development work of the charity.

Ross Rotary Club meets every Monday evening 6.30pm for 7pm at the Chase Hotel, members welcome, visit rossrotary.com