Head calls for more help for erosion-hit families

A primary school head teacher in a village hit by coastal erosion has called for mental wellbeing support for affected families.

Hemsby in Norfolk has lost 26 homes to the sea in recent years, with displaced residents – including children – put up in emergency accommodation within the Great Yarmouth area.

Donna Walker, of Hemsby Primary School, said she had contacted the council on several occasions about the upheaval and the need for broader and ongoing help but the response was "frustrating".

A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said it is "working closely with people to offer support and advice and explain the options available".

"The general response I get is 'Those families have a housing officer,'" said the head.

"It's not just about housing, it's about support for mental wellbeing for adults and children, it's about having a hub where people can go to, to meet other people in that situation and feel supported, and that seems to be what's missing at the moment.

"It's a little bit frustrating from Great Yarmouth council; we're having very little response from them," she told BBC Radio Norfolk's Chris Goreham.

The school got in touch with the BBC to raise concerns about the impact on families and children's education.

"Just after Christmas, a family was given two days' notice that their home was going to be demolished," said Walker.

"That family have been moved to Gorleston-on-Sea, and on paper, that's a roof, but in practice it's a real upheaval, the property is substandard, has damp and requires repairs.

"I'm absolutely in awe of that parent because they're still determined to get their child to Hemsby Primary.

"As a school we feel we need to be supporting those families."

A spokesperson for the council said: "Staff from the council's housing team have been based in the village to offer support and advice for anyone who needs assistance and the council has hosted drop-in sessions for residents directly impacted, with another meeting scheduled for next week."

They advised people who needed support to contact the council.

Walker said she was concerned about pupil numbers as the erosion progressed, with the school identifying homes at risk.

Its pastoral support worker checked in with affected families, support charity The Benjamin Foundation had stepped in to help and she was personally phoning the mother in Gorleston "to check how things were going for her", she added.

Teacher Laura Brown, who leads on climate sustainability at the school, said climate change and erosion had been included in its curriculum to help children understand what was happening.

"There are pupils that are concerned, and it's on their mind; all we can do is be there for them as much as we can," she added.

The school's concerns were echoed by Simon Measures of Save Hemsby Coastline, which for years has campaigned for effective sea defences for the village.

"We are now up to 26 homes demolished, and some of those had children in going to local schools; they then have to find emergency housing, not necessarily in the same area.

"It just smashes the community up in one more way: people lose contact, they move away, they can't go to the same school, they lose their friends.

"It's one of the side effects that isn't talked about enough.

"It could be up to 90 properties in the next three years, so you can imagine how many families are going to be displaced – that's a small village worth of housing, just gone."

He said the pressure group did not think enough was being done in terms of ongoing support and had reached out to organisations that could help people with their rights, wellbeing and mental health.

"All we are getting is 'Here's the housing officer, follow that process' – that's not what's needed.

"Losing your home is such a shock to your life it's almost like a bereavement so we need to be taken care of in the same way."

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