Volunteering for Home Start

Face painting at Barnet council event for children. The mayor of Barnet, Councillor Anthony Finn looks on.

 I have started the 9 week training programme for Home Start, Barnet, a local Charity. Home Start is a charity that offers support, friendship and practical help to parents with young children.
It is a unique service. Trained volunteers who are usually parents themselves visit families with at least one child under 5 at home to offer informal, friendly and confidential support.They help any family that lives in the borough of Barnet, who has at least one child under 5 and is going through a difficult time. This can be anything from feeling isolated, being new to the area, suffering from post natal depression or finding it hard to cope with twins or triplets.
Volunteers visit the family once a week and support them in a variety of practical or emotional ways. They may accompany the parent on outings, shopping trips or to keep appointments, play with the children while the parent gets on with something else at home or has a much-needed rest, or simply sit and chat if that is what is needed. It’s simple, but it works!
They also offer:
Group support
Teenage parents programme
Parenting programmes
Family events & activities
My training will finish in November and then I will be eligible to start visiting a family as a volunteer. The prep course itself has been very eye-opening, informative and rewarding. It's very hands-on and discussion oriented with lots of group activities. The group of about 20 other trainee volunteers have as a diverse a background and ethnicity as the borough of Barnet itself! In our group we have volunteer-trainees that originally have come from Afghanastan, Germany, Isreal, Nepal, Kenya, India, America, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq and oh yes, England! Ages range from early 20's to late 50's. During this training time, irregardless of the differences in background and culture, we have bonded together as a group and have formed new friendships. The subject matter has been very interesting. Quite a few "guest speakers" have attended and we are learning about all kinds of resources available for children in Barnet as well as a review of parenting skills and certain problems that families might encounter such as children with special needs, depression bereavemnet, mulitple births, etc.
I am looking forward to when I will begin visiting my first family and am happy to be involved with such a worthwhile charity.