At Embrace, we support families across the UK who are living with poverty, isolation, and trauma. This includes single mothers, widows, survivors of abuse, families affected by imprisonment, and destitute refugees barred from working and surviving on as little as £8.86 a week.
Many of these parents are doing their best to raise children with dignity, faith, and resilience. But poverty doesn’t just impact finances – it deeply affects mental health.
A Crisis in Our Communities
In 2023-24, 12.3 million people (18.3%) in the UK were living in absolute poverty, and 3 in every 10 children were growing up in hardship. That’s around 9 children in every classroom.
Behind those statistics are real lives: a mother skipping meals, a father battling stress, a widow grieving in silence, and a refugee parent desperate to work but legally prevented from doing so.
Poverty is more than a lack of money. It’s a lack of peace, stability, and sometimes, hope.
1. Chronic Stress and Mental Fatigue
Living in poverty – especially while raising children – is a source of relentless stress. Many parents we support wake up each morning worried about how to afford food, heating, nappies, or rent.
“This sudden financial loss has placed us in a desperate situation.We are behind on rent and at risk of losing our home. I cannot afford the medication and ongoing treatment my wife urgently needs. My children’s basic needs for food and stability are under threat.”
This constant fear creates chronic anxiety, which often spirals into depression or emotional burnout.
“I am feeling really very worried, in this temporary accommodation. I feel so unsafe, to the point I can’t even sleep at night. I stay awake watching my son with all the lights on.”
Parents seeking asylum in the UK face more intense stress. Barred from working, most are forced to survive on as little as £8.86 a week. With no right to earn, living in temporary accommodation, and limited ability to provide for their children, the psychological burden is enormous. Many feel powerless and trapped.
2. Social Isolation and Shame
Poverty is deeply isolating. Parents may withdraw from family, friends, or their mosque communities, out of shame or exhaustion. They may not be able to afford transport to appointments or gatherings, or feel judged for their struggles.
For refugee families and those newly arrived in the UK, language barriers, trauma, and immigration restrictions can intensify this sense of social invisibility. They are often physically and emotionally cut off from the wider community.
“Months have passed, and I live in unbearable silence, alone in this foreign land, breathing pain and fighting loneliness every day. I have no family beside me, and no one hears my plea except Allah, then a faint hope in your mercy.”
3. Low Self-Worth and Stigma
Parents often internalise shame, feeling like they’ve failed their children. Many compare themselves to others, or avoid school gates and community spaces out of fear of judgment.
“Although I tried my best, I would be criticizing myself and be harsh towards myself. As a mother we always try to give our best and I feel I could not do that.”
This is even more painful for asylum-seeking parents, who long to contribute and support their families, but are blocked by law from working. This enforced dependency corrodes their dignity and makes it harder to maintain self-worth.
Dignity is a right for every human being. Poverty should not strip someone of their value or voice.
4. Strained Parent-Child Relationships
When parents are under pressure, it becomes harder to stay emotionally present with their children. The constant mental load can lead to frustration, guilt, or emotional disconnection.
“I had to support them emotionally, mentally, continuously reassuring them, continuously being there for them, while I needed that support myself. I kind of bottled everything up and had to show a gracious smile and be brave. But inside I was breaking. So it affected my role as a mother, of course, because you have to heal from all that and you can’t give from an empty cup.”
Children feel this, too. They may internalise their parents’ stress, or develop anxiety of their own – feeding a cycle of emotional strain.
5. The Physical Toll of Mental Strain
When you’re living in poverty, your mental health often deteriorates alongside your physical health. Parents may skip meals, experience fatigue, or suffer from frequent illness due to malnutrition and chronic stress.
Refugee families, especially those living in shared asylum accommodation, often report poor living conditions, lack of privacy, and persistent illness – all of which take a toll on physical and emotional wellbeing.
This can be compounded when parents have to manage their household single handedly and become exhausted, wearing multiple hats, alone.
“I have to play the role of mother, father. Not only do you have to, maintain and protect and provide, you also have to nurture and help them grow. And it’s very difficult to do all roles at one time, I’m one person, and to play multiple roles that takes a toll on a person. And I did go through several health issues over the last three to four years as a result.”
The trauma and mental strain upon their shoulders in turn affects their physical strength.
“Life seems scary as a single mother with mental and physical health issues. I developed post-traumatic stress disorder so that affected my physical health too, and my ability to function properly.”
6. Barriers to Work and Recovery
For parents experiencing mental health issues, the road to employment can feel impossible. Childcare, trauma, disability, and a lack of flexibility often block the path.
“I have been through a lot mentally I am not feeling confident to return to a busy work place. I am still in a state of recovery after years of domestic abuse and violence.”
For refugees and asylum seekers, the barrier is systemic. They are legally prevented from working, no matter how skilled, willing, or desperate they are to earn a living.
“What hurts me most of all is that I am someone with a great energy and desire to be self-reliant, to be an active member of society, to contribute as much as I can… But the harsh reality forces me to live on aid, waiting for decisions that may or may not come, while the days pass and I feel my life suspended between the past I fled and the future, I have no idea when it will begin.”
The Back to School Burden
As the school year approaches, many parents face another layer of stress: school-related costs.
Uniforms, shoes, stationery, bus passes, lunch money—it adds up fast. For families already affected by the Two Child Limit, the Benefit Cap, or asylum restrictions, these costs can feel crushing.
That’s why Embrace launched the Back 2 School campaign—to help families afford the basics and give every child the confident start they deserve.
We provide:
- School uniforms and shoes
- Stationery and school bags
- Support with meal costs or transport
📚 £380 can cover a full school uniform
🎒 £50 can provide supplies for a child in need
🧕 Every donation helps a parent breathe a little easier
👉 Donate to our Back to School campaign now
👉 Share our campaign with your mosque or school
Our Islamic Duty: Compassion in Action
The Prophet ﷺ said: “He is not a believer who fills his stomach while his neighbour goes hungry.” (Bukhari)
At Embrace, we believe that no child should grow up carrying the weight of adult burdens. No mother should feel ashamed of her struggle. And no refugee parent should be made to beg for dignity.
Let’s Embrace Them – Together
💚 Support our work by providing food, shelter and essential utilities for those in need
🧕 Stand in solidarity with single mothers, widows, and refugees
✉️ Raise your voice for those silenced by poverty
🧒 Help us restore childhoods – and restore hope. Help every child stand tall this term.
Together, we can turn struggle into support, and despair into dignity.