Ngala: a lifeline for WA families HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: Ngala has received LotteryWest funding. Pictured is Ngala CEO Ashley Reid (right) with Gemma and Scott Stanners and seven-month-old son Lachlan. MONEY and time pressures, combined with information overload, are at the forefront of parents' minds today, according to the head of Perth's leading early childhood service. Ngala chief executive Ashley Reid said the help provided to today's families was a world away from the organisation's humble beginnings as a "refuge for fallen women in Perth." Opened as the House of Mercy in 1890, the organisation originally took in young, unwed mothers. A change of name in 1916 to the Alexandra Home for Women reflected evolving attitudes in society to unmarried women. In 1933, the organisation became one of the first to receive a grant from Lotterywest. The 20 pound grant was the result of the state's first lottery, which raised 3005 pounds for community causes from 55,000 tickets sold. Mr Reid said the charity, which took on the name Ngala in 1956, had changed dramatically over the past 123 years. "There are a whole range of modern complexities that may not have existed in the past," Mr Reid told The Sunday Times. Time pressure is a huge one, and most families are on double incomes by necessity, which means you've got more families accessing things like childcare. A deluge of easily accessible but conflicting parenting information is driving up anxiety. "There's no longer a sense that there's a lack of information; in some ways people have too much information," Mr Reid said. ``We've done quite a bit of work changing our focus to being a good filter of information. If you've got Google, you can find out anything you like, but often it's conflicting and it might not be evidence-based. One of the oldest registered charities in the state, Ngala now has eight locations across the Perth metropolitan area and employs 200 staff. The helpline gets nearly 20,000 calls a year from concerned parents, and mothers and fathers can book in day or overnight stays. Mr Reid said parents should realise it was perfectly normal to need some support, and early intervention was a key. "It's always OK to ask for help," he said. Most families do a fantastic job within their context and with the resources they have, but that's not to say that they don't need support. There is no perfect way, there is no perfect parent, but there is a whole range of information that can improve things for people and we want to give parents as much confidence as we possibly can, because they're the ones up at 2am and they're the ones having to make difficult decisions while they're tired. In recent years, the push has been to include fathers more in child rearing. ``There's been a big generational shift from dads at arm's length in previous generations, who wouldn't have been part of the birth or that early childhood experience, to now being really keen to be involved," Mr Reid said. He said Lotterywest's continuing financial support had enabled Ngala to refurbish its Kensington premises and fund social research projects. "We have a unique opportunity with Lotterywest," he said. ``From 1988 to now, we've been the recipients of more than $3 million worth of grants. The fact that we were one of the first recipients is a point of pride. We would be a lot less effective and have a lesser reach if we didn't have the support of organisations like Lotterywest. With a record 33,920 births in WA last year, Mr Reid said Ngala's services were in demand. ``People are still having babies," he said. We're in touch with more than 40 per cent of parents who give birth in this state. The evidence shows that if you support families with young children there is a significant social dividend for doing so. The better job we can do for young children and family with young children, the better benefits to society down the track.