'The more that we raise, the more we can help parents'

RALLYING CALL TO SUPPORT MAJOR FUNDRAISER

- By COREENA FORD

THE founders of a group which offers a lifeline to parents and carers of children with additional needs have issued a rallying call to the people of Hull to support a special fundraiser.

Anna Ashton and Hollie Lowthorpe first formed Listening Ear 4 U in 2020, coming together through social media after reaching out online for support and help for their children, who have special educational needs (SEN).

Anna, 45, had been hoping she could find a support network, to offer her advice for her son Jay, who has complex needs, and was 14 at the time. Hollie, mum to Felicity, had been doing the same.

Anna told how she was unable to root out the support she wanted, yet found a new friend in Hollie.

The two decided there was only one course of action to take - to join forces and create a community organisation group of their own.

Jump forward to 2025 and the Listening Ear 4 U group now has 1,400 members on its Facebook page, demonstrating just how vital their self-funded group has become, and how many people they have helped through tough times in the SEN community.

Mum-of-four and grandmother-of-one Anna said: "My son Jay has very complex needs and I didn’t get any support with Jay as he was growing up.

"He went to a mainstream school to start with and they opened a special hub within the school.

"Then he went to Northcott School and he's now at East Riding College in a specialist setting, but he's struggling with that so we're looking at something else for him.