Volunteer for Home-Start
By volunteering just a few hours each week you can transform the lives of young children and their parents in your community.
Be a Home-Start volunteer
At the heart of our service is our trained and trusted volunteers who provide support to our families. We are always looking for people with a genuine desire to make a difference to their local community to volunteer with us. Our aim is to support families with young children when they need us the most.
No special qualifications are necessary to become a Home-
Talking and listening can empower families to overcome their difficult situations. Volunteers are offered on-going training and support activities including specialist speakers and visits to family support services, as well as informal social gatherings.
Who can volunteer?
We are looking for both men and women.
We asked that volunteers are able to commit to the training involved, as well 2- 3 hours a week over at least 6 months to support a family.
All volunteers will be required to complete a DBS check.
The main support offered by volunteers is befriending families by visiting them in their homes on a weekly basis. Volunteers will usually have parenting experience and give free emotional and practical help to any parent, with at least one child under five.
By visiting a family in their own home and offering friendship, Home-Start volunteers represent a lifeline for many families who are finding it hard to cope.
What are the benefits of volunteering?
- You will be helping a family to cope with the pressures they are facing and make a real difference to the lives of parents and their children.
- You will receive support and training to prepare you for all aspects of your role with Home-Start.
- You will make new friends and have lots of fun.
- You will develop new skills and have some good experience to add to your CV.
- You will be involved in on-going training – enhancing personal and skills development.
- Improved health and well-being.
- Improve transferable skills and enhance work prospects.
- Improve self-confidence.
- Out of pocket expenses will be paid.
What kind of families will I be supporting?
All kinds of families can find it hard to cope, for all sorts of reasons. Families will come from a range of backgrounds and may be experiencing a range of challenges. Families are often referred to Home-Start because of:
- Bereavement
- Divorce/separation
- Post natal Illness
- Loneliness/isolation
- Multiple births
- Mental health issues
- Disabilities
Whatever the reason families come to Home-Start we offer non-judgmental, confidential support. The families that we work with, like our volunteers, come from all walks of life.
Through your training the Home-Start team will get to know you and will match you with a family where they think you will be able to make the most difference. You may share a similar experience, or you may come from a similar background.
Training to be a Home-Start Bromley volunteer
In return for volunteering, we will provide all the training, guidance and support you need to be effective and make a real difference. You will need to complete our core 40 hour preparation training course which will give you an in depth understanding of the role and expectations.
Once you have completed our core training, you will also be involved in ongoing CPD training as well as supervision sessions with the family co-ordinator. It is very important to us that all volunteers receive adequate training before starting to work with families.
All volunteers undertake a free high quality Preparation Course, over 40 hours, usually one day a week for eight weeks.
Once you have completed the training you will be matched with a family. Throughout your time with Home-Start you will you are not left on your own, our Family Co-ordinator will keep in close contact – initially by telephone after the first couple of visits to the family, and then with regular one-to-one and group support sessions, so that if there are any difficulties or problems, they are picked up straight away. We also run volunteer socials and on-going training opportunities.ore information. The course will develop your skills, prepare you for things you may encounter as a Home-Start volunteer and help you to get to know the Home-Start staff team.
Other ways to volunteer for Home-Start
Share your time and skills to help our work
If being a Home Visiting Volunteer isn’t for you, you may be able to help us in other ways. Many people have volunteered their time and skills for:
- supporting family groups & outings
- administration work
- music, craft and storytelling
- healthy eating sessions
- fundraising
- digital promotion
- and so much more
You may also be able to help in ways we haven’t thought about yet.
So if you want to get involved, get in touch and let us know what you have in mind.
Join us as a Trustee to help shape the future of our work with families
Our Trustees provide essential leadership, guidance and governance from their own professional or lived experiences. They also play an important role as ambassadors for our work and can offer particular skills to the organisation (like human resources, information management or finance, for example). We welcome interest from those who can be passionate about our work with parents, children, families and the community.
Importantly, the Board of Trustees should reflect the communities in which we work. We already benefit from a variety of skills, experiences and backgrounds and now need to add to that dynamic and creative team.
The minimum commitment as a Trustee is for 8 – 10 hours each month, to attend meetings or to engage in Board discussions via email and online forums. Further opportunities to get involved are possible too, so we can be flexible to suit individual motivations to volunteer.
Become a Home-Start Volunteer Today
Home-Start’s team of trained volunteers make sure a child’s early years count. By volunteering just a few hours each week you can transform the lives of young children and their parents in your community.