A family comprising a single mother and her three children, aged 16, 10 and 1 year respectively. The children have just come off a child protection plan and their care is now shared between the courts and the mother. The mother has a history of complex mental and emotional health issues which she takes a variety of medications for. The family home is is complete disarray though, as they don’t have a washing machine so the mother washes their clothes in the bath. This means that the children are unable to bathe as there is usually washing left to soak. They are all living in a 2 bedroom home, so there are issues around over crowding. The house is filled with clutter as is the garden which she has received a warning about. The school are concerned about the middle child who often arrives at school, unwashed, in dirty clothes and without having had anything to eat. The mother lost her own mother quite recently, who it is believed was the person that held the family together and without her mother, she is really struggling to cope. As it was a very dire situation we agreed to send her £200, which her social worker will help her to manage.