THE REVEREND Joy Roye is on a mission to help revive family values in Upper Norwood.

The benevolent pastor is the founder of the Christian Family Network, a relatively small organisation based in Beulah Hill that works tirelessly to help the vulnerable and isolated in one of Croydon's poorest areas.

The Rev Roye was inspired to form the network in 2005 through her work as a pastor in Dayspring Community Church, Crystal Palace, after identifying a worrying trend among youths in the area. She explained: "Through my role as a minister I noticed that families in Upper Norwood were going through difficulties with their children, particularly in the Afro-Caribbean community.

"Families were experiencing great difficulty with their children becoming involved with the police.

"I wanted to establish an organisation that advised parents, and to go into the community and actively help rebuild families."

Like many organisations which have a foundation in faith, the Christian Family Network supports parents and children, even among those families who are not religious.

And its reach extends to the wider community. Its volunteers give practical help, such as benefit advice, to those who find council services difficult to access.

They also visit elderly residents through the charity's befriending service and help them with day-to-day chores and tasks.

But, like other members of Croydon Neighbourhood Care Association, the Christian Family Network has lost some of its funding.

As of December, the group will no longer receive a £2,000 annual grant towards its befriending scheme.

If Rev Roye cannot find an alternative source of funding, this important service could cease to exist.

"Befriending is vital to the people our volunteers help," she said.

"It is of great concern to us because such a small amount of money did such a large amount of good.

"We identify the most vulnerable people in the community and try our best to ensure they are not left in isolation."

But it's not all doom and gloom. Recently, Rev Roye's Dayspring Ministries, a charity connected to the network, was given a grant by the Nationwide Foundation to provide welfare advice for the elderly and disabled.

The organisation had run a six-month pilot project which helped 50 people before it ended in March.

The grant will allow Dayspring to continue this work and employ a welfare rights and money advice worker.