A family support worker who runs a children’s clothing bank in Cardiff says her referrals have doubled due to the soaring cost of living. Claire Goode, 48, from Whitchurch, started Lab Co Clothing in 2019.
The family support worker for Cardiff council has been in the industry for the last 20 years and began the non-profit after supporting a mother of four at work who was struggling to clothe her children. Lab Co Clothing helps organise clothing for children aged two to 16. They receive referrals from NHS staff, schools and Cardiff Council.
She said: “I felt that there is a lot of support for new mums, babies, but nobody looked at the older age group, and as they get older, their clothes become more expensive.”
“I thought there has got to be a way where I can help people to elevate the pressures that they’re finding, more so now. It was bad before, but definitely worse now.”
“As a Christian, one of the things I believe in is our faith in action, so I thought ‘why not’ - it’s not going to take up much of my time; however, that’s now not true,” Claire added.
Cardiff has one of the highest child poverty rates in the UK - 40% of children, in some wards of Cardiff, are affected. A BBC report, which inspired Claire to start the clothing bank, outlined that out of the 700,000 people in Wales who live in poverty, 206,000 of these are children.
She first started collecting clothes through word of mouth and storing them in her husband’s studio, but since it was knocked down, she’s had to move into a smaller facility on Newport Road. Claire provided the first family with clothing in 2019 and has since helped over 210 families.
But due to the start of the living crisis, referrals at the organisation have doubled. She has since applied for charity status, to help expand her work in helping families with clothing donations.
“The need is getting more and more. We helped our first Ukrainian family on the weekend, and we’ve previously helped families who have escaped war zones. The demand is going to triple and that’s what scares me", she said.
She added: “I will do anything I can to help out, it doesn’t matter where they’re from.” The local community has been very supportive, with many people dropping by or phoning Claire to collect donations. She also uses Facebook to highlight urgent clothing that is needed.
A single father who received help from Lab Co Clothing said: “It’s been hard with three children as a dad on your own. I feel that sometimes people treat you differently than if you were a single mum in this position. But being a victim of domestic abuse and a father on my own, Claire helped with getting the clothes. It made the kids so happy, which gave me hope in all the hardship of the last few years with everything that’s gone on.
“Claire was one of my first contacts given to me from my support worker. She was very kind and that helped me, particularly in the place me and my children were in two years ago.”
Currently, Lab Co Clothing is looking for boy’s and girl’s clothes between the age range of 13-16. They collect clothing donations from the Cardiff area every alternative Saturday morning.
For more information, visit the LabCo website here or to arrange a donation collection, email claire@labcoclothing.com.
