As a Home-Start volunteer, I never feel isolated. I feel as though I am part of a team...

I chose to give up my career in 1990 on the birth of my first child. Subsequently I spent eleven years as a full time parent to three children. I largely enjoyed this time. As any parent knows, caring for children is extremely rewarding, but it can also be very demanding, often lonely and at times downright boring!

I have no female relatives living in this country and in the past I have suffered from post-natal depression. There were times, particularly when my two older children were smaller, that I longed for both practical and emotional support. I felt that if I could be of help to just one other person in a similar position then it was well worth doing.

It was with some trepidation that I attended the Home-Start volunteer training course but at the end of the nine week course, I not only felt ready to support my first family, but I had also made some good friends.

When I met my first family, I quickly warmed to both the mother and the children. Naomi, our Home-Start Organiser, appears to have an uncanny knack of matching the right volunteer with the right family.

As a Home-Start volunteer, I never feel isolated. I feel as though I am part of a team and know that if I encounter any difficulties I can contact Naomi at any time for support. I have found being a volunteer for Home-Start an extremely positive experience.

The most obvious reward is the sense of helping people. Being a volunteer can occasionally be emotionally draining, but there are also poignant moments; for example when a child in your Home-Start family tells you he loves you, or the mother says she doesn't know how she would manage without you, it feels wonderful.

It is a privilege to have the opportunity to build a relationship with a family and watch that relationship develop, and although there can be a feeling of sadness when you leave a family who no longer need you, the sense of achievement is second to none.

Another plus point has been the social aspect of Home-Start. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting other volunteers and making friends.

On a more personal level, Home-Start was something of a springboard for me. My experience as a volunteer has helped me to feel as though I do have something to offer to society and has given me the self-confidence I needed to take another step and complete a computer course. I believe that the excellent training I received from Home-Start helped me to achieve this goal and I now work as a part-time Community Care Worker for a local charity. This allows me to feel fulfilled and at the same time continue to be at home for my children and carry on as a volunteer for Home-Start.

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