Help Social Justice Foundation by Mediation Contact Centre for Children and Single Parent

Help Social Justice Foundation by Mediation Contact Centre for Children and Single Parent

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Help Us Launch South Africa’s First Child Contact and mediation Centre- A registered NPO with a section 18A tax status My name is Advocate Jade Lawson, a family law advocate and accredited mediator. For years, I’ve walked with families through some of the hardest seasons of their lives — court battles, custody disputes, parental alienation, and trauma. I’ve seen firsthand how children are often the silent casualties of prolonged legal conflict. The truth is: South Africa lacks safe, neutral, and affordable spaces for families in crisis to reconnect, rebuild trust, and restore bonds. That’s why I’m building the Social Justice Family & Mediation Centre — a child-focused, multi-disciplinary space offering: • 🧸 Supervised contact visits in a safe, neutral environment • 💛 Reunification therapy for children and estranged parents • 📖 Voice of the Child assessments to give children a voice in legal matters • 🤝 Co-parenting classes & mediation to reduce court reliance • 🚘 Neutral drop-off zones to facilitate safe access between parents Fees are determined by a means test for those who cannot afford these services. We’re ready to launch — but we need your help. 🎯 Our Goal: Raise R500,000 to Launch This campaign will fund the first phase of operations, including: ✔️ Fitting out the Centre with therapy rooms, observation spaces, child-friendly play areas ✔️ Hiring core staff (Centre Manager, social worker, admin support) ✔️ Covering insurance, registration, safeguarding protocols, and IT systems ✔️ Subsidising services for vulnerable families who cannot afford private support ✔️ Conducting a strategic trip to the UK to study proven supervised contact centre models This isn’t a one-off intervention. This is the beginning of a scalable model that can be replicated nationally to change how South Africa supports children in conflict. 📊 Why This Matters Supervised contact is an increasingly urgent need in South Africa. There is currently no centralised network of supervised contact centres in the country. Legal and social work professionals in Gauteng and the Western Cape estimate that up to 30% of their family law cases involve a request or order for supervised contact — often due to parental conflict, safety concerns, or previous abuse. Public services are overstretched. In some regions, government social workers carry caseloads of 100–160 active child protection cases — far beyond the recommended 1:60 ratio. This makes consistent supervised contact impossible through the state alone. Families who want to maintain regular contact often have no option but to pay private professionals, which many cannot afford. This creates a justice gap — and children suffer the consequences. The Social Justice Family & Mediation Centre aims to fill this gap, ensuring that every child — regardless of income — has access to safe, structured contact with their parents. 🌱 The Impact of Your Donation Your support will directly help us: • Launch South Africa’s first model supervised contact and reunification centre • Provide free or subsidised sessions to vulnerable children and families • Create a best-practice blueprint that can be rolled out nationally • Give the courts and DSD a trusted referral hub for complex parenting cases • Prevent children from being caught in legal limbo without support This campaign is hosted in partnership with the Social Justice Foundation NPO, a registered NPO with Section 18A status. All donations are eligible for tax-deductible certificates. 🤝 How You Can Help 🔹 Donate any amount — every contribution counts 🔹 Sponsor a session – e.g. R500 = one therapy session; R3,000 = a child assessment 🔹 Share this campaign with friends, family, colleagues, or on social media 🔹 Become a Founding Partner — contact us if you’d like to contribute over R25,000 and be recognised as part of our launch legacy Together, we can create a new story for children and families in South Africa — one where healing, safety, and connection come first. Let’s build a justice system that protects what matters most. 💛 Thank you for being part of this mission.