Home Start West Cornwall
Key Facts
Location
Project Criteria
Project funding
£79,725
Funding round
Home-Start West Cornwall offers support, friendship and practical help to parents with young children in local communities. It recruits and trains volunteers who have parenting experience to visit families that have at least one child under the age of five years and offer them informal, flexible, friendly and confidential support. To help give children the best possible start in life, Home-Start supports parents as they grow in confidence, strengthen their relationship with their children and widen their links with their local communities. Home Start West Cornwall is a charity and was established in 2004.
The Parenting Fund project will develop work with families across the District of Kerrier and assist more families in need by:
- raising the profile of Home-Start West Cornwall
- supporting existing families and volunteers in Kerrier
- recruiting and training more volunteers
- running preparation course
- developing new working partnerships
- working with more families.
Being a parent is not always easy. Many people feel exhausted and overwhelmed by the stresses of family life with the under fives, especially when there are added pressures such as isolation, depression, illness, disability or a child's difficult behaviour. It is even harder, if family or friends are unable to offer support and a breathing space when most needed. Some parents lose confidence in their ability to cope and most can remember days when they would have liked someone to turn to. Everyone needs a hand sometime!
Our ten-week course for volunteers covers a range of topics including child protection, confidentiality, family life, values, attitudes and communication. Volunteers' skills are carefully matched to a family and they usually visit once a week. Support can take the form of listening, encouraging and helping to build self-esteem as well as offering emotional support and practical assistance with daily life. Volunteers can help with getting to appointments and act as advocates in dealing with agencies. We value our volunteers and make sure that they receive supervision, support and development opportunities.