After the traumatic removal of her children, Amy Van Zyl turned her pain into purpose. Through Her Circle, the organisation she founded in 2020, Amy now supports women facing what she calls “complex motherhood”, those experiencing overlapping challenges such as domestic abuse, poverty, addiction, and poor mental health.
“I had a mental health breakdown, and my children were removed by social services,” she recalls. “It was the worst experience of my life.” After eight months, she regained custody, but the experience changed her forever. Determined to understand the system, Amy studied public health and began facilitating peer-support groups for mothers who had lost children to care.
That small group became Her Circle; a growing movement rooted in lived experience. “Everything is designed by women with lived experience,” Amy says. “Our focus is on recovery, not adversity.”
Her Circle provides a safe, anonymous space for women to rebuild their lives, free from judgement. Amy stresses that many mothers who lose their children are not abusers, but victims of an overstretched system. “Some women are punished for being in abusive relationships or for struggling without support,” she explains.
Now operating in Newcastle and Gateshead and expanding nationally, Her Circle aims to drive systemic change while staying communityled. “If I’m still fighting the same battles in 10 years, I’ll have failed,” Amy says.