Date published: 13 May 2021 by Amber Hemming

Our #FindOurRainbow campaign, which successfully launched in Bristol last month, is now coming to Essex on Saturday 15 May. The campaign encourages local residents to find gorgeous rainbow themed painted rocks in outdoor locations.

Harry and his family, who are supported by Family Support Worker Abi, have painted some of the colourful rainbow rocks and will be hiding them in their local area. Successful hunters are invited to post a picture of the rocks they find to our Instagram page @rainbowtrustcc, before re-hiding them for others to discover.

Abi has provided support to the family for the past four years, helping them care for Harry, 12, who has a life-limiting Mitochondrial disease called Leigh’s Syndrome.

Abi helps the family emotionally and practically in a range of ways, including organising days out, collecting Harry’s two sisters from school and looking after Harry to give his mum some respite and spending time with her daughters.

Harry’s mum, Lucy, has painted some of the striking rainbow rocks with her daughters Iris, nine, and Florence, eight, to show their support for us. They hope to help raise awareness of Rainbow Trust by hiding them close to their home for lucky local residents to find. Lucy, said:

“As an art teacher myself, I was really happy to get involved with this campaign to give something back to Rainbow Trust for all the amazing support we have received.

“Harry was diagnosed with Leigh’s syndrome at 22 months old. This was the day that my life changed forever and it was difficult to see a way forward.

“We were referred to Rainbow Trust by our local children’s hospice, Little Havens, around four years ago. Abi our Family Support Worker started providing additional support to my family at a really difficult time and from day one her support has been invaluable to me. Initially I was nervous about how this support would work but Abi immediately put my mind at ease with her bubbly personality. Over that time Abi has provided myself and my children all kinds of support and she has helped me more than she will ever know.”

Throughout the changing COVID-19 guidance, Abi has continued supporting the whole family. Lucy says, “Over the last year or so, because of the restrictions, Abi’s support has not been as straightforward as normal, however, we have had lots of doorstep visits and during the months I was shielding with Harry, Abi often would ‘check in’ to see how we were doing. This meant so much at what sometimes felt like quite an isolating and monotonous time. All my children love seeing Abi and all really look forward to spending time with her. I don’t think that I could sing her praises any more!

“We hope that our involvement with the Find Our Rainbow Campaign will encourage other Chelmsford families to get involved and spread awareness of this brilliant organisation, that helps families at the toughest of times.”

Claire Coussins, Rainbow Trust Head of Engagement, said:

“We are so excited to be launching Find Our Rainbow in Essex. It is wonderful to have the Johnson family’s involvement through their beautiful painted rocks and through the family’s powerful story about their experiences of Rainbow Trust’s support.”

To find out more about the campaign, visit our Instagram page @rainbowtrustcc.