Family Law Week reported yesterday that National Charity, Families Need Fathers’ telephone helpline logs a record number of calls in 2010/11. May 2011 saw the highest ever monthly total of calls taken. The Families Need Fathers (FNF) evening telephone helpline answered 4,125 calls in the year from June 2010 to May 2011. The May total was the highest ever, with 627 calls being logged. The report stated that analysis of the call data suggests that increasingly the calls relate to breakdowns occurring earlier in relationships, often after 2 or 3 years. The children involved are therefore typically much younger, sometimes only months or a year or two old. Families Need Fathers (www.fnf.org.uk) is a National Charity which helps parents whose children's relationship with them is under threat. They offer information, advice and support services to parents to assist them in arrangements, focusing on the needs and wellbeing of the children involved. Families Need Fathers also lobbies for changed legal and social attitudes and have regular contact with politicians, the judiciary and the media. As a Charity, FNF depends on subscriptions and donations to assist in its running. Chris Longbottom, Solicitor in Russell Jones & Walker’s Family Department, is a member of Families Need Fathers and regularly attends the Manchester Branch offering free advice, support and assistance to members and new attendees alike. Chris is frequently instructed by FNF members in a range of matters, not just relating to children, and also offers discounted rates for FNF members. He is also a columnist for the FNF magazine, McKenzie. Chris, and his colleagues at Russell Jones & Walker, offer specialist, clear and grounded advice to parents in matters relating to Children. Please speak to one of our Solicitors, and read our factsheets regarding Children Matters, for more information.
