Family Lives joins charity group in move to expand early support for families

The family support charity Family Lives has joined Coram, marking a significant development in the provision of early help services for children and families across the UK.

From 1 April 2026, the organisation will operate as Coram Family Lives, combining decades of frontline family support experience with Coram’s national infrastructure, research capacity and legal expertise.

Founded more than 50 years ago by volunteers, Family Lives was established to ensure parents had somewhere to turn “before they reached crisis point”. Today, around 100 staff and 150 volunteers provide support on issues including family breakdown, challenging relationships, behaviour, and emotional wellbeing.

Under the new arrangement, all existing services – including helplines, online advice and in-person support – will continue, while benefiting from Coram’s broader resources and reach.

Jeremy Todd said the move would strengthen the charity’s ability to intervene early: “This marks an important and hopeful step forward for the families we exist to serve.”

He added: “By joining the Coram Group, Family Lives is strengthening its ability to provide early support…ensuring that more children, parents, and carers can access the right support, at the right time.”

Coram, the UK’s longest-serving children’s charity, brings together a range of specialist organisations supporting hundreds of thousands of children, young people and families each year. Its work spans legal advice, adoption, and therapeutic services, alongside policy and research through the Coram Institute for Children.

Dame Carol Homden highlighted the increasing pressures facing families: “The pressures upon families have never been greater.”

She said the integration would enable a greater impact at both local and national levels: “Coram Family Lives will make an even bigger difference…whether through direct services, or in the development of better policy and research.”

The two organisations said their shared values and complementary expertise made the partnership a natural fit, particularly in strengthening early intervention and preventative support.

Family Lives will retain its existing board while benefiting from shared infrastructure, with both organisations emphasising that resources will remain focused on supporting children and families.

Family Lives’ origins lie in a response to a fatal child abuse case in 1973, which prompted its founders to create a service dedicated to supporting parents before difficulties escalated into harm. Since then, the charity has evolved into a national provider, supporting over 36,000 families last year through its helpline and in-person services, alongside extensive online advice.

As part of Coram, the organisation aims to build on that legacy, expanding its reach while maintaining its core mission of early, accessible support.