News Release
A £70,000 grant saves Home-Start Wolverhampton from the brink of closure
A Wolverhampton charity that supports some of the city’s most vulnerable families has been given a lifeline thanks to a grant from The Henry Smith Charity.
Home-Start in Wolverhampton is the only family support charity to work with families across the city. It is one of 334 Home-Starts across the UK, and makes up part of the UK’s leading family support charity.
Home-Start recruits and trains parent volunteers to support other families in their own homes. These are families that are struggling to cope with family life, whatever the reasons. In a city such as Wolverhampton it can often be complex issues such as domestic abuse, problematic drug and alcohol use, depression, unemployment and social isolation.
In the last year, with Home-Start Wolverhampton’s support, three children were taken off the Child Protection Register.
Whilst many Home-Starts receive funding from their local authorities, Home-Start Wolverhampton has always had to rely on charitable trusts and a small grant pot of £4,000 from a local children’s centre. At the end of last year, the future of Home-Start Wolverhampton was so bleak, staff
redundancies were a real possibility and a reduced service was having to be offered to the families supported.
At a time when life is becoming really difficult for low-income families in cities such as Wolverhamtpton, referrals to Home-Start have been at an all time high. Referrals coming from agencies such as social services, children centres, refuges and CAMHS.(Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).
Michelle Hansell, senior coordinator at Home-Start Wolverhampton said: “This is such fantastic news for us. The £70,000 from Henry Smith has saved us from closure. It also gives us time to now look at other funding opportunities. Most importantly it means that we can expand our service. We can train more volunteers to support more families across Wolverhampton. Many families, who need support, have never heard of us. We want people to know about Home-Start Wolverhampton, either because they need our help, or they would like to volunteer for us. We would also welcome any one in the local community to fundraise for the charity.”
To find out more about Home-Start support, or to volunteer, please contact Home-Start Wolverhampton, tel: 01902 556627,
e: homestartwolves@btconnect.com
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Notes to Editor
Home-Start is the UK’s leading family support charity. We recruit and train volunteers to support parents, in their own homes, with at least one child under the age of five. Our home visiting work is unique in the UK. The charity was set up in 1973 and now has 334 Home-Starts supporting nearly 35,000 families and almost 73,000 children each year. Almost 16,500 volunteers visit families in their own homes – parents supporting other parents in a variety of situations including isolation, bereavement, multiple births, illness or disability.
Available for interview:
Michelle Hansell, senior coordinator at Home-Start Wolverhampton and a Home-Start supported family.
Contact details:
Jo McLeish, Press and Pr Officer, Home-Start UK
Tel: 0116 2587933
Email: jmcleish@home-start.org.uk
Website: www.home-start.org.uk
