Home-Start North Dorset is an independent registered charity that supports struggling families living in the North Dorset District Council area and where there is at least one child under five.
What do we do?
We recruit and train local volunteers and carefully match them with local families who need support. The families are referred to us through a variety of agencies such as:
Health visitors
Pre-schools and nurseries
Women’s, Men’s and Families Refuges
Children’s Social Care
Our volunteers are parents supporting parents so they understand the difficulties families may be facing.
We create a local community network of trained volunteers providing tailored made 1:1 support, helping families with young children through their challenging times.
Without a stable, loving and nurturing environment, a very young child will not develop the vital foundations and skills they need. From their behaviour and their ability to learn, to even some of the most basic things, like being able to wash, dress and use the toilet by themselves.
Starting in the home, our approach is as individual as the people we are helping.
A child’s earliest years are irreplaceable.
When the chance is missed, making up lost ground in later life is difficult, expensive and often just doesn’t happen.
Local services are overstretched and funding is sparse across the UK.
A child’s future shouldn’t be blighted before it has even started.
We give TIME to isolated families.
Why do we do it?
Home-Start schemes are part of the communities they serve. Home-Start has a proven, lasting, positive impact on the development of children and the health and welfare of the family.
The earliest years make the biggest impact: Home-Start makes sure those years count so that no child’s future is limited
How do we do it?
No judgement, just compassionate, confidential help and expert tailored support.
The scheme is managed by a board of trustees and is responsible for raising all its own funds.
Connecting isolated families with local groups and other support networks.
Who do we help?
Many parents need help through friendship, advice or support when their children are young.
There is no rulebook for raising a family and sometimes it can seem overwhelming, particularly if a family is going through difficult times. All of our families that we support have at least one child under the age of five.
There is no ‘typical’ Home-Start family.
Parents ask for Home-Start’s help for all sorts of reasons:
- They may be feeling isolated, have no family nearby and be struggling to make friends.
- Suffering poor mental health, like Post Natal Depression.
- Lacking in confidence or self-esteem.
- They may be finding it hard to cope because of their own or a child’s illness or disability.
- They may have been hit hard by the death of a loved one.
- They may be really struggling with emotional and physical demands of having twins or triplets born into an already large family.
- They may be struggling to set boundaries for children and/or need support with setting routines.
- Helping with budgeting in the home.
We are a totally independent Charity funded by donations and fundraising events and we are actively looking for corporate partners who are at the stage of wanting to ‘put something back.
We are also always on the look out for Volunteers whose only qualification is that of being a parent.
If anyone is interested please call 01258 473038 or email the team.