Find your passion with the Parental Army IMAGE: Claire Chacksfield, Parental Army
James Moore introduces InYourArea Ambassador and regular contributor, Andrew Cleminson, to members of the Parental Army, an association of organisations that seeks to support residents and families of Croydon affected by trauma and crisis.
Written by Andrew Cleminson
James Moore, community builder, appears on my phone screen and starts our video call. It’s 5.30pm on Thursday afternoon and I’m sat in my car on the top floor of the Whitgift Centre car park in central Croydon.
Next to join us is Yemi Hughes. It’s now almost five years since her son Andre was murdered on August 16, 2016. Three years after her son’s death, Yemi joined forces with Peter Stanley and Claire Chacksfield and formed the Parental Army.
Peter recalls their first meeting: “It was very emotional. I was about the only one who was not in floods of tears at the time.
“We had someone whose son had been stabbed to death, a parent whose son had been given 25 years for joint enterprise, others whose children…
