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Volunteering for Home-Start uttlesford

Our home visiting volunteers

some common questions

Volunteer Poster

Can you help by displaying our new volunteers poster in your office, shop or other window?

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At the heart of our charity are our home-visiting volunteers - who visit parents at home, giving emotional and practical help.

These volunteers must have parenting experience and, before they are matched with a family, go through a training programme.

Can you help?

If you are thinking of becoming a volunteer then please Contact Us.

The volunteers who manage our Schemes are called trustees and they also receive special preparation for their role with Home-Start.

They will have all sorts of skills including:
general business management
financial and legal expertise
IT knowledge
human resources experience
PR & media skills

We have an active fund raising group called the Friends of Home-Start Uttlesford who make a highly valued contribution to the annual running costs of the scheme.

image of annual picnic

All areas of volunteering are rewarding ... so why not join our team of volunteers and support your local Home-Start Scheme in Uttlesford?

If you're a parent or a carer, or maybe a grandparent, you know just how tough family life can be at times.
And we know it too. Our volunteers, who have parenting experience, help families with all sorts of problems, from the everyday to the overwhelming.

image of family groups

Problems such as:

Loneliness and isolation
Relationship difficulties
Coping with twins/triplets etc or several pre-school children
Ill health, disability or special needs
Lone parenting
First-time parenthood or new babies
Coping with bereavement
Post-natal illness
Children's behavioural issues

(Please note that this list is anything but exhaustive).

Home-Start's approach is very personal and friendly and this often reassures parents that what they're going through is not unusual, that they are not alone.

What do volunteers actually do?
Our volunteers will usually visit a parent in their home once a week for a couple of hours. How they help is really down to the needs of the family. Some might need a image of child painting

sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, someone to have a laugh with. Others may need help keeping appointments or accessing local services and 'connecting' with their local community. Our volunteers can provide an extra pair of hands to help people cope with everyday parenting situations, or practical help with activities like playing or reading stories.

So who are our volunteers?
They are people just like you - ordinary people who understand just how hard it can be to bring up young children. They all have parenting experience - some are young, others are not so young - and they come from many different backgrounds. Some have even been helped by Home-Start themselves.

Do you need any qualifications?
The only real 'qualification' you need to become a Home-Start volunteer is experience of bringing up children. You will be friendly and understanding and have a practical approach to problems. You don't judge people, you accept them for what they are and then strive to support them as they try to give their children the best possible start in life. You will receive full training on one of our preparation courses before being carefully matched with families where your own set of experiences and skills can help the most.


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