Mission Statement

Our mission statement is:
"In obedience to the Lord's command to care for those in difficulty, the parishes of the Diocese of Chichester combine through the association to help hurt and broken families."

The Association's history goes back to 1890 and during that time has seen many changes in society. Moving from an adoption agency,FSW's work has often been of a pioneering nature with a relationship to government provided services.  We have anticipated roles taken on by the state with the adoption work being one example.

At present our work complements that of government whilst offering support focused on distressed parents as well as children and young people. We repeatedly see that the disintegration of families, arising from issues such as bereavement, illness, imprisonment and relational breakdown is accompanied by many emotional and practical difficulties. As an Association we seek to help around 2000 families per year across Sussex and, as an independent charity, our work is undertaken on a neutral basis, open to all people.

FSW operates in different areas of the Chichester Diocese with several full and part-time community workers working in Brighton & Hove, Shoreham, Hastings, Eastbourne, Worthing, Littlehampton, Mid-Sussex and certain rural areas of East and West Sussex.

Our ambition is to grow so that we can cover the whole of East and West Sussex and our Five-Year Plan addresses this issue. We are fulfilling plans to grow and we currently offer individual and group support to some 250 families each year, with the work done at our residential and day centre multiplying that figure ten-fold.