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I was delighted to read your excellent review of the new Foundling
Museum which opened at 40 Brunswick Square in June. But what your review
failed to mention was that, whilst the Foundling Hospital closed down in
the 1950s, the work of Thomas Coram is alive and well today in the
pioneering work of the same charity, known today as Coram Family.
Whilst the stigma of illegitimacy may have diminished, the trauma of
separation and loss is still part of many children's lives. Today Coram
Family works with over 5,000 children, all of whom have either experienced
trauma and family breakdown, or whose families are at risk. Our
specialist adoption and fostering services, and our supervised child
contact service have become models for how to work with particularly
vulnerable children. We have also developed community based services that
have provided the inspiration for the government's current expansion in
children's centres for our youngest children.
We may understand more about the needs of children and families in
the twentieth century than we did in the eighteenth, but sadly the level
of need seems unlikely to diminish.
For further information please visit our web site at www.coram.org.uk.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
16 July 2004
Gillian M Pugh
chief executive
Coram Family, 49 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 2QA
The Foundling Museum and Coram Family
I was delighted to read your excellent review of the new Foundling
Museum which opened at 40 Brunswick Square in June. But what your review
failed to mention was that, whilst the Foundling Hospital closed down in
the 1950s, the work of Thomas Coram is alive and well today in the
pioneering work of the same charity, known today as Coram Family.
Whilst the stigma of illegitimacy may have diminished, the trauma of
separation and loss is still part of many children's lives. Today Coram
Family works with over 5,000 children, all of whom have either experienced
trauma and family breakdown, or whose families are at risk. Our
specialist adoption and fostering services, and our supervised child
contact service have become models for how to work with particularly
vulnerable children. We have also developed community based services that
have provided the inspiration for the government's current expansion in
children's centres for our youngest children.
We may understand more about the needs of children and families in
the twentieth century than we did in the eighteenth, but sadly the level
of need seems unlikely to diminish.
For further information please visit our web site at
www.coram.org.uk.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests