JCIP #251 - Lauren Seager-Smith

In episode 251 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Lauren Seager-Smith.Lauren is the is the CEO of the For Baby’s Sake Trust (FBS), a charity which empower parents to break cycles of abuse, transform the life-chances of whole families and move forward in positive change, starting with the baby. The baby is at the heart of everything they do.The Trust was set up philanthropically by philanthropist Stelio Stefanou. His founding vision was to tackle the root causes of disadvantage and vulnerability, focusing on very young babies who do not have a voice. We came across For Baby’s Sake through an illuminating BBC News article which highlighted case studies of several individuals and couples who have been helped by the charity. Some of these couples were supported and stayed together, other men and women were supported and were able to successfully exit the relationship whilst protecting the child involved.Prior to joining FBS, Lauren was head of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, before moving to Kidscape and then joining the role at FBS where she is currently today.In this episode, we discuss her professional journey, the high percentage of parents who were bullied at school who they work with at FBS (both perpetrators and victims), the statistic that 70% of both parents have six or more adverse childhood experiences and where do we draw the line between abusive experiences and personal responsibility.We also discuss if people can change in domestic abuse cases, how do abusers reform and can they stay that way.For Lauren’s mental health, we discuss the support she provided to her sister who had severe Bipolar growing up from childhood and into adulthood. We discuss: the taboo of Bipolar growing up in a small mining town community in Scotland, the emotional strain of the reality of supporting someone with severe mental health issues, the hyper-vigilance Lauren had to have all the time, her sister’s experience of psychiatric wards and her father’s own experience of severe mental health difficulties too.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about For Baby's Sake here: https://forbabyssake.org.uk/You can follow For Baby's Sake on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forbabyssake/Twitter: https://x.com/forbabyssakeYou can read the BBC News article we discussed in full here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68942471Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukGoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-healthMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvkSupport Us:PatreonPayPalMerchandise