"Home-Start has given me the independence to do ordinary things in life with my children- like shopping and going on family outings- that other mothers do. It's hard enough to get out with three children at the best of times, but I am completely blind in one eye."

Love it or hate it, a simple trip to the shops with the children in tow is something that most parents take for granted. But for Carmelita Crawford this ordinary bit of family life was impossible... until Home-Start stepped in. Carmelita is partially sighted and her husband, Tim, is blind so shopping with the kids - two of whom also have sight problems was a nightmare.

When Carmelita was pregnant with five-year-old Aaron, her father-in-law, Jim, heard a radio interview with a Home-Start organiser on the car radio. He was so impressed that he pulled off the motorway, took the number down and called them immediately.

When Aaron arrived, Carmelita began a five-year relationship with Home-Start North Down that was to help give her family independence and freedom: "With my volunteers help I could go to the supermarket with the children, find out where the bargains were, just like everyone else, and then go to the butchers and greengrocers and pop into the bank down the high street. It seems simple but it meant a lot to me and my children. Having Home-Start support and being able to get out and do 'normal' things with the boys has shown them that they can do anything."

Home-Start support came to an end when Aaron went off to school at five, but the relationship hasn't come to an end: Carmelita is now a member of her local scheme's Management Committee and feels she is putting something back: "When you find something you really believe in you want to help. I rave about Home-Start all the time!"

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