Is there any reason why Home-Start would stop supporting me? Expand Our support is given freely by the volunteers and received freely by families. Each has a choice about whether they continue with the relationship.Generally, we would stop supporting you: when your youngest child turns five or goes to school full time, if your circumstances have got better and you feel you can cope, and you want to free up your volunteer to help another family, if you decide you no longer want our support, if your volunteer’s circumstances change and they have to stop volunteering - if this happens, we’ll ask if you would like to be supported by another one of our available volunteers. if, for any reason, our volunteer is no longer safe coming to your home to support you.
Lin Hinnigan - Chair of Trustees Expand Lin Hinnigan was previously Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board and has had a successful track record of strategic leadership as a director and Chief Executive of a number of public bodies and within the Civil Service. She has led organisations responsible for the regulation of social work, the development of the school curriculum, assessment and qualifications, and the oversight of teacher training and development. Having initially trained and worked as an educational psychologist, Hinnigan has a proven passion and track record for supporting children and young people to improve their life chances. Hinnigan takes up the role at Home-Start UK alongside her existing Chairing roles at Make A Wish - a charity supporting critically-ill children and Working Chance - which supports women involved in the criminal justice system back into employment.
Managing your money We don't judge how families reach their low points. We just want to help you to cope again. Expand Financial pressures are a real problem for many of the families that we support. You may have been made redundant, be long-term unemployed, work hard at two or more jobs and still can’t make ends meet, or have debt problems. Many Home-Starts around the country help parents to budget and manage their money more effectively. They are also able to put you in touch with other local organisations who will be able to offer advice and support with your money.
My child is over five years old, can I still get help? Expand Home-Start’s work is mostly based on supporting families with at least one child under five. In the majority of cases, you will need to have at least one child under five to qualify for our help. However, we adapt services to meet the needs of local communities. So your local Home-Start might have special funding and be able to provide support to families whose youngest child is over the age of five. To find out how it works at your local Home-Start, visit their website or get in touch with them, using our contact map.
Naomi Dickson Expand Naomi Dickson became Chief Executive of Norwood in 2023. Naomi joined Norwood in 2023, having previously spent 8 years as Chief Executive of Jewish Women’s Aid (JWA), the community charity that supports Jewish women affected by domestic and/or sexual violence. Having initially joined JWA as Refuge Coordinator, as CEO she was responsible for almost doubling the organisation’s annual income, and she was recognised as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2020. Naomi’s experience also includes roles at Jewish Blind and Disabled and the Notting Hill Housing Trust. She has served as a trustee for the Women’s Aid Federation of England
Pearly Siffel Expand Pearly Siffel is a global strategy executive with over 16 years’ experience in professional services and financial services across Europe, the Middle East, Australia, North America, and the UK. She is accomplished in opening up new markets, developing high-performing teams and driving organisational transformation to unleash growth. Pearly is personally committed to helping underprivileged people improve their mental and physical well-being. For several years, she was a Committee Member and volunteer with Dress for Success in Australia and the US, helping women thrive in work and life. Additionally, for the last 20 months she’s provided strategic guidance and coaching for The Children’s Society in the UK, which supports abused children to build their confidence and well-being.
Ray Ayivor - Treasurer Expand Ray Ayivor is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and holds two Masters degrees in Change Management and Finance. He also holds a Diploma in Charity Accounting from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Ray has been actively involved in charity and social action work in Africa and the UK for over 25 years. His UK experience includes working for charities that have delivered services in the areas of adult and social care, international water and sanitation, mental health and youth and social action. Having developed a keen interest in the role of the family setting in the development of the wider society, Ray comes to Home-Start UK looking to make a meaningful contribution to ensuring that children have the best starts in life and grow into adults who are actively engaged in the building of a stable and beneficial society.
Sarah Duxbury Expand Sarah Duxbury has over 25 years of public sector experience with an extensive career working in local government. She is a qualified solicitor and an experienced public sector leader, specialising in legal and governance advice. She currently works as Director of Strategy, Planning and Governance at Warwickshire County Council. Over the years, Sarah has led an expansive portfolio at Director level which has included areas such as HROD, asset management, corporate communications, corporate policy, legal services, information governance, change management and community partnerships. Sarah has a passion for delivering public services around the needs of children and families to address disadvantage and promote equity of opportunity and life chances.
Sharing experiences Parents supporting other parents - one of the main reasons why parents find Home-Start's support so helpful. Expand All of our home-visiting volunteers are experienced parents who have been through our ten-week training programme. They have been through the pressures and challenges of parenting. Many volunteers were supported by Home-Start themselves. This understanding and the experience our volunteers have and can share with the families they support is one of the main reasons why parents find Home-Start’s support is so helpful. We believe we are able to help families to cope with the problems life is throwing at them. In many cases, we can transform lives.
Sheena Bolland Expand Sheena Bolland has extensive experience working in both the voluntary and statutory sectors, specialising in working with children and families, from being a practitioner to becoming a senior manager. Having worked alongside Home-Start for many years, Sheena was delighted to take up the post of a trustee of Home-Start Medway when the opportunity arose approximately 15 years ago. For the last six years, Sheena has served as chair. During this time, Home-Start Medway has been successful in securing funding by expanding and diversifying service delivery. As a member of the Home-Start UK board, Sheena brings a wealth of direct experience and understanding of the challenges faced by the voluntary sector in the current climate. Sheena is currently also a trustee at Holding On Letting Go – a charity working with bereaved children. She is also a governor for the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust and a governor at a Special Education Unit for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Specialist group support Some local Home-Starts offer specialised group support to help parents struggling to cope with a particular issue. Expand Some local Home-Starts offer specialised group support to help parents struggling to cope with a particular issue such as: twins, triplets and more, postnatal illness (for mums and for the rest of the family), being a lone parent, meeting other single dads, or breast feeding. To find out more, please ask your local Home-Start for details.
Tara Spence Expand Tara Spence is the Chief Executive Officer of Home-Start in Suffolk. Since taking over the leadership in 2015, she has played a key role in the charity's 520% growth as well as the successful merger of two neighbouring organisations to create Home-Start in Suffolk. Through a network of almost 300 highly qualified volunteers, the organisation offers family support throughout the county and holds the Queen's Award for Volunteering. Due to her extensive expertise in the voluntary sector, Tara developed and led Suffolk and NE Essex’s ICS, VCFSE resilience agenda, which establishes guidelines for the VCFSE's commissioning and non-commissioning interactions with the health and care system.
Volunteering. Can I do it? Expand There are lots of ways that you can get involved with your local Home-Start. To find out about how to volunteer for your local Home-Start, get in touch with them directly. If you want to find out more about the different types of volunteer opportunity we have, or the commitment we ask of our volunteers, click here.
Ways to volunteer - home visiting Help parents and their children by visiting them for a couple of hours a week in their own homes. Expand Across the UK, nearly 15,000 volunteers visit families at home each week offering support, friendship, emotional and practical help. A home-visiting volunteer provides support for a family in the family’s own home, usually spending a couple of hours once a week with the parents and their children. You work with each family to help them in the way they need most. This may be with practical tasks such as escaping from the house, getting to appointments or helping get organised; offering advice and sharing experiences; or supporting parents through emotional issues. "The best thing about Mandy [my volunteer] is that she gave me the kind of help and support I know my family would give me if they were close." A mum from Home-Start Edinburgh South Central, Scotland. All of our home-visiting volunteers must: have parenting experience commit to our training programme undergo an enhanced criminal records check
Ways to volunteer - local trustee Each local Home-Start is an independent charity and being a trustee is all about the governance of the charity. Could you help plan and oversee how each Home-Start will support families in your community? Expand Trustees serve on the governing body (board) of a charity and are responsible for directing the management and administration of it. You would have a wide range of duties and be responsible for making the charity effective, providing overall direction and maintaining sound management of funds. We have around 1,500 trustees who volunteer their time and skills. Could you provide: general business management? financial and legal expertise? IT knowledge? human resources experience? PR & media skills? knowledge of family support issues in the community? Then we'd love to hear from you. You would carry out out a wide range of duties and be responsible for making the charity effective, providing overall direction and the sound management of funds. You would commit to a minimum of 8 - 10 hours a month. Neil and Graham tell us they enjoy about their trustee role: “I felt my experience and skills were going to waste until I was asked to join Home-Start. Now I feel that both Home-Start and I benefit by me being a trustee." Graham, trustee Home-Start Mid Suffolk It's a very fulfilling role. It's an extremely necessary role. And I think an awful lot of people would like to help. So .... come along and help! Neil Spurrier, trustee, Home-Start Richmond