Home-Start Southwark
Home-Start Southwark provides high quality training to volunteers to enable them to provide emotional and practical support to families in need. We believe that the earliest years make the biggest impact, and we want to make sure those years count so that no child’s future is limited.
ABOUT US: 

 

Home-Start Southwark volunteers offer friendship, and emotional and practical support for families under stress, helping to prevent family crisis or breakdown. They visit families in their homes once a week for approximately six months and help build the family's confidence and resilience so they can create happier lives for their children. The support is tailored to meet each family's individual needs but could include: assistance to attend groups or appointments; sharing parenting ideas; help with form-filling and budgeting; signposting to local services; and being a listening ear for an isolated parent.

 

WHY OUR WORK MATTERS: 

We work alongside families by providing a carefully selected and trained volunteer with parenting or caring experience, who visits for 2 hours per week. Families agree what they want to work on with their Family Support Coordinator and volunteer. Our aim is that when our time with the family (usually 6 months, but sometimes longer) comes to an end, they have made progress and feel empowered and resilient to meet the ongoing challenges that being a parent brings.

 

There are many reasons why families need support, and these can include but are not limited to:

  • Feeling isolated; a need to build a support network
  • Experiencing poor mental health; finding it hard to talk to anyone about it
  • Struggling to cope with a child’s or their own illness or disability
  • Struggling with the emotional and practical demands of children, including multiple births or multiple children under 5
  • Experiencing relationship difficulties
  • Feeling exhausted or depressed
  • Struggling to get to appointments or activities
  • A need for guidance or support with play, child’s development, behaviour, healthy choices, school readiness
  • Worried about attachment/bond with the child
  • Struggling with the effects of poverty or inadequate housing

 

We can help by:

  • Being there for emotional support - someone to talk to and share worries
  • Helping parents to leave the house to access the community
  • Supporting parents to play with their children, strengthen their development, manage their behaviour and routines (see our Being Together and Big Hopes Big Future projects for more information)
  • Signposting and going with families to other services, appointments and activities
  • Encouraging, motivating, and reassuring to improve confidence and resilience
  • Helping with budgeting, benefits and filling out forms (see our Financial Wellbeing project for more information)
  • Supporting with managing home routines and how to best use space at home to meet the family’s needs
  • Supporting families to improve confidence and self esteem

 

 

 

OUR VALUES: 
Home-Start offers parents the support they need to help give their children the best start in life. We support parents as they grow in confidence, strengthen their relationships with their children and widen their links with the local community. 
THINGS WE ARE PROUD OF: 
We are incredibly proud of all our amazing volunteers. They are busy people who still find time to offer friendship and support to families in need often transforming the lives of parents and children.
WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN OUR PEOPLE: 

Our volunteers are compassionate, caring, non-judgemental people who want to give back to their community by supporting families who are going through a difficult time. 

Before supporting a family volunteers attend a Volunteer Preparation Course which covers all aspects of family support including safeguarding, confidentiality, child development, perinatal support, boundary setting, active listening etc. The course consists of a 4-hour session once a week for seven weeks. 
We also offer an ongoing training programme covering topics such as: Supporting Parents with Mental Health Issues; Domestic Abuse; and Financial Wellbeing. Volunteers receive phone support and 1-2-1 supervisions with their Coordinator, and are invited to regular Volunteer Support Groups and social events.

 

HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT: 

Our volunteers have the opportunity to develop skills and experience in working with parents and children which they can use for career development or further studies. This could be particularly relevant to students in the Policy and Society, Psychology, and Nursing and Midwifery Faculties. They also meet like-minded members of their community and experience the boost to wellbeing and self-esteem that comes from helping others and being part of a friendly, caring organisation.