Scottish Families Demand Support for Home-Start

Presentation to Members of the Scottish Parliament
Wednesday 20 April 2005

Home-Start, Scotland's leading family support charity, was invited by Rt Hon George Reid MSP to present to Members of the Scottish Parliament (Wednesday 20 April 2005). Home-Start has been established in Scotland for twenty years and is now at a critical stage in its development. The demand from Scottish families in need of support far outweighs the current capacity of existing Home-Start schemes.

Today, Home-Start supports 2,000 families in 31 communities across Scotland. The charity aims to double its services enabling it to reach every family that needs its support. Home-Start offers the support of a trained parent volunteer to another parent who is finding it hard to cope. Volunteers work exclusively with families who have at least one child under five, visiting them at home to offer friendship, emotional support, and practical help.

Co-ordinators for the charity in Scotland report that poverty is a major factor in families' lives. According to 'Health Inequalities in the New Scotland' (April 2002), 31% of Scottish children live in poverty. In addition, rural poverty is a major concern in Scotland. Home-Start volunteers exist in Scotland's rural communities as well as inner cities, supporting children and parents in some of the most disadvantaged areas.

The Rt Hon George Reid MSP, said: "I have seen first hand the impact of Home-Start's work with families and their communities in Scotland. As MSP for Ochil, I am particularly happy to personally support the excellent work carried out by Home-Start Clackmannanshire. The support needs of families in the early years of a child's life are diverse and immediate. Home-Start volunteers help parents at that very early stage before their difficulties reach crisis point."

Home-Start Director in Scotland, Dave Milliken, added "Home-Start has a highly valued presence in local communities and twenty years experience working with families in Scotland. Our parent volunteers have a lasting impact on the lives and future prospects of the families they support. We now require new investment in order to respond to the demand from local communities to help our existing schemes expand. By supporting parents we are helping the give children in Scotland a better start in life."

ENDS

Further information Home-Start press office

Notes to Editors:
1. Director Dave Milliken and Home-Start case studies are available for interview. Please call the numbers above to make arrangements.

2. Since it began in Leicester in 1973 Home-Start has helped over 250,000 families and 500,000 children in the UK and with British Forces in Germany and Cyprus and has now spread across the world, with Home-Start projects in 15 other countries. We help families (with at least one child under five) who are trying to cope with anything from post-natal depression, multiple births and serious illness to isolation, disabilities and children's' behavioural problems.

Back to Top