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History and background
...established a womens refuge in Birmingham and then a family support project
In 1993 Small Heath Baptist Church with other local churches began the Gilgal Project, firstly establishing a woman's refuge and then a family support project in Small Heath. In partnership with Spurgeon's Child Care, the family support project
opened in January 1995 as Stepping Stones Family Support Project to offer services to children and families of all faiths, backgrounds and cultures. The Project provided a Stay and Play Group and then a Pre-school, Women's and Parent's groups followed by family support services and a second Pre-school in a local primary school. These developments also required a new office base to be established in Small Heath.
Both distinct services were managed under the charity name of The Gilgal Project (reg'd charity no 1045812) until 2003 when both services established themselves as separate charities. Stepping Stones Family Support Project (West Midlands) elected new directors and management committee members to provide the organisation's governance.
Stepping Stones has grown and developed over the last 10 years, experiencing considerable growth during the last 3 years which has seen its turnover and staff team increase substantially each year. At the same time the areas of work have extended to include direct work with children aged 5 -13, both Child and Adolescents Mental Health services and work with children and young people experiencing problems with school attendance, intense support work for families in crisis and support to carers and grandparents. The geographical coverage has extended from the area around the base in Small Heath to include most of North and East Birmingham and parts of the inner-city, with a fourth site established in Kingstanding.
In November 2005 Stepping Stones split into 2 projects, Stepping Stones East, covering all services in Small Heath and across East Birmingham, and Stepping Stones North covering services above the M6.
The Name & Logo
The organisation's initial name of Gilgal signifies the place of new beginnings in Joshua 4. The symbolism of the cairn of stones by the river crossing, has been maintained in the name of Stepping Stones and its new logo.
Staffing
The organisation currently employs 33 paid staff and 24 volunteers, and provides Social Work placements, student placements and work experience opportunities. The staff team reflects the communities we support, with community languages offered and all faiths respected. All staff and volunteers get excellent development and training opportunities, as well as chances to visit and work in Spurgeon's overseas projects, mainly in Uganda, Kenya, Mexico, Romania and Latvia.
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