Home-Start’s helping hand
Many families and vulnerable people have been struggling during 2020 and charities and support services have been dealing with an increasing number people in need of their help. Until Christmas, the New bury Weekly News will be highlighting the work of some of these West Berkshire organisations that rely heavily on volunteers and donations from the public THIS year has been an extremely stressful time for most families – particularly those with young children.
When nurseries and schools closed on March 23, many parents were suddenly faced with the task of trying to juggle working from home with childcare and home schooling.
Add to that the strain of others losing their jobs or being furloughed and it’s not difficult to see how this pandemic has had a huge impact on parents’ emotional health and wellbeing. Fortunately, Home-Start West Berkshire has been there throughout to offer a helping hand to those who have been struggling to cope.
The charity, whose offices are located in Broadway House, The Broadway, Newbury, was established at the beginning of 1997 – but due to the current circumstances its help has never been so important.
Home-Start is a local community network of trained volunteers who support families with young children through their challenging times.
The co-ordinators, managed by scheme manager Grace Green, maintain the team of volunteers providing this much-needed support and befriending service to families with at least one child under the age of five.
Mrs Green said: “Typically HomeStart recruits and trains volunteers who go into family homes and offer two or three hours of support at a time.
“Obviously throughout Covid they have not been able to do that, so the real challenge for us to try has been to try and find another way to help those families who are struggling.
“We have had to be quite creative. A lot of volunteers are now supporting parents through regular telephone calls, text messages and video calls. “In between lockdowns they were also able to carry out some socially-distanced visits.
“A lot of families are struggling out there. Some are in the position of having to pay for their electric or pay for their food. They haven’t got enough for both.
“Others are just finding things tough generally.
“We have also found ourselves supporting a lot of families who have had to face issues they would not normally come across.
“We’ve had some families who have never needed to use a food bank before, but do now because they have lost their jobs or are on furlough.
“In fact, we are now the second biggest referrer to West Berkshire Foodbank.”
Throughout the pandemic, HomeStart has been working in partnership with local charities to ensure families get all the support they need.
The charity has teamed up with West Berkshire Baby Bank to provide nappies, wipes, stair gates, clothes and other essentials to hard-up families. Home-Start has also been working with Reading-based charity Cowshed to provide activity packs to keep families entertained throughout lockdown and during the school holidays.
Mrs Green added: “We know our families well and we are in a great place to identify the help that they need. “Being in lockdown was very tough for a lot of families, it can be very isolating for them.
“A lot of parents who have mental health problems usually find going out and doing things with other people, other parents, makes them feel better – but they have not had that option.
“We have been able to provide extra counselling and support over the phone to families and parents of young children who are struggling. “We also ran a series of Summer Fun Days, where we went out and used community spaces like the Thatcham lakes and Victoria Park so families could meet for a socially-distanced chat or picnic. It does them a lot of good to feel they are not alone.” What’s the message to those who are struggling to cope?
“Just give us a call,” said Mrs Green. “We can work out how to help you and give you the support you need.”
For more information about Home-Start, visit home-startwestberks.org.uk
If you would like to speak to the charity about getting some support, call (01635) 760310 or email office@home-startwb.org.uk