Walking beside families: welcoming our newest Parent Advocate, Kate
Families navigating the child protection system often describe the experience as overwhelming, emotional, and full of unfamiliar processes. That’s where Wirral’s Parent Advocates make a profound difference - people with lived experience who walk alongside parents, offering understanding, reassurance, and practical guidance when it matters most.
This unique programme places empathy, honesty, and human connection at its heart. Every advocate brings their own lived experience and perspective, providing support that feels relatable and grounded in real life. And now, the team is proud to welcome its newest member - Kate, whose journey embodies exactly why parent advocacy is so powerful.
Kate’s strength is rooted in a past that wasn’t easy to carry. She lost her dad when she was just 12, and with a mother battling alcoholism, she spent much of her childhood navigating instability on her own. As an adult, she found herself in unhealthy relationships and often believed she needed to say the “right thing” rather than the honest thing when speaking to professionals - a fear that honesty would be held against her, not help her. These experiences became turning points. They’re why she now champions openness, understanding, and compassion so fiercely: because she knows what it feels like to be scared of telling the truth, and how life‑changing it is when someone listens without judgement.
Kate’s own experiences within the child protection system inspired her to step forward and support others as a parent advocate; essentially to be the person she once needed.
Just eight months ago, Kate was working as a buyer for an engineering company and didn’t even know that parent advocate roles existed. It wasn’t until a friend, a social worker, told her she would be perfect for the role that she began to explore the idea. Despite initial self‑doubt, something about the opportunity stayed with her. Eventually, she applied, embracing the chance to turn her difficult experiences into something meaningful.
Now, she hasn’t looked back.
For Kate, being a parent advocate is more than a job, it’s healing:
The role is cathartic, and for me it’s a way to give back while helping families feel seen, heard, and supported. If I can change even one person’s perspective or help one parent feel less alone, I feel I’ll have made a difference.
Her empathy comes from lived experience. Kate has felt the weight of the child protection system personally and understands the fear, confusion, and regret parents can experience. She’s navigated the heartbreak of having her children taken into care and has worked tirelessly to rebuild her life and her relationships.
Kate’s journey through childhood adversity, loss, and a difficult past has shaped the advocate she is today. She reflects openly on the pressure she once felt to say the “right thing” to professionals rather than the truth, and how that held her back. Through her own growth, she understands now that trust between social workers and families is the foundation for progress.
Once trust is broken it takes a long time to rebuild, that’s why I can’t stress enough the importance of honesty to the families I work with.
This insight is exactly what makes parent advocacy so impactful. Advocates like Kate build bridges and translate fear into understanding and isolation into connection.
Wirral’s Parent Advocates help ensure that families are not facing the child protection process alone. Their lived experience offers:
- Reassurance during moments of uncertainty.
- Honest guidance grounded in real‑life knowledge.
- Empathy and validation, helping parents feel understood rather than judged.
- Support in building positive, trusting relationships with professionals.
Kate’s story represents what the Parent Advocate programme strives for: transforming personal challenges into collective strength, and ensuring every family has someone in their corner who truly understands.
Today, Kate stands as a testament to resilience and the power of lived experience. She has rebuilt her life, focusing on understanding herself more deeply as a person, learning from the past and using that insight to shape a better future. She’s strengthened her relationships with her children and now uses her voice to help others feel empowered to do the same.
Have I made mistakes? Yes. Have I learned from them? Absolutely. I’ve worked hard over the last 10 years to understand myself better as a person and to build relationships with my children. In my story, there were so many points where I could, and should, have made different decisions if I’d had the courage to. My hope is that I help some of the families I work with to build that courage earlier and bring more positive outcomes.
Her journey reminds us that every family deserves compassion, support, and someone who believes in them. And now, thanks to advocates like Kate, they have exactly that.
Get support
If your child is in the Child Protection process and you would like an advocate by your side, you can call the team at 0151 608 8288 or email them at pathfinder@koalanw.co.uk. You can also speak to a child’s social worker to find out more.
