Home-Visiting Volunteer

Home-Start helps families with young children deal with whatever life throws at them. We support parents as they learn to cope, improve their confidence and build better lives for their children. The benefits of our support include improved health and well-being and better family relationships.

Our volunteers visit the family’s home for a couple of hours every week. They tailor-make their support to the needs of the parents and children. Volunteers are very committed and will keep visiting until the parents feel they can stand on their own two feet. Parents and volunteers often develop a deeply trusting relationship which can lead to powerful change within the family.

Volunteers Help By: Visiting families at home once a week for 2-3 hours for as long as the family needs them. Offering emotional support to help parents find ways of coping. Playing with children, listening, reading, having fun together. Providing practical help – with budgeting, shopping, cooking and getting to appointments. Encouraging parents to get out and about – to family groups and other social activities. Helping parents access parenting advice and parenting skills training such as Health Visitors or Children’s Centres. A Home-Start Volunteer supports families until they have the confidence to stand on their own two feet again and pass on that confidence to their children.

Skills

Listening, Caring, Non-Judgemental.

All our volunteers must be a parent or have parenting experience. Before being matched to a family, all volunteers must attend a preparation course. This course runs one day a week for 5 weeks between 10am -2.30pm in term time only and lunch and refreshments are provided.