A new grant from the Big Lottery Fund will help Home-Start Renfrewshire and Home-Start UK to expand their support for families throughout Inverclyde.

Big Lottery LogoWorking in partnership, Home-Start Renfrewshire and Home-Start UK will be able to reach out to parents who need help and offer a package of tailor-made support through regular home visits.

Inverclyde, in the west of Scotland, includes some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the UK, and this grant will help us to provide support to more families and children.

Esther Wildsmith, head of network services at Home-Start UK, said: “We are delighted to receive this award from the Big Lottery Fund which will enable us to provide support to families in Inverclyde, Greenock and Port Glasgow.”

“Home-Start Renfrewshire will be reaching out its service to take in this new area, offering support and practical help to families with young children,” added Esther. “By utilising the skills and experience of parent volunteers we hope to improve the lives of young children, and the confidence and self-esteem of their parents whilst providing training and practical experience to our volunteers. We are really looking forward to reaching out to more families experiencing difficulties with the help of this award.”

In Scotland 1,000 volunteers in 32 local Home-Starts are already providing life-changing support to 2,000 families.

In June, during a debate in the Scottish Parliament, Members from all political parties spoke about the enormous impact that Home-Starts are having on communities in Scotland.

The grant to Home-Start was part of a wider package of lottery funding, worth £4,172,654 to nine Scottish projects. Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland chair, said, “Our aim is to support people and communities in greatest need; and now, in Inverclyde, two more projects can do just that. One project provides a friendly face to support families in times of need, and the other will provide young people with confidence building and valuable on the job training opportunities. These projects are excellent examples of how our funding is helping to change the lives of hundreds of people across the region.