Being a new mum can be lonely at times, but for a young mum, it can be even harder.

Young mums can find it hard to meet other mothers their own age. They can often lack the confidence to visit support groups for mums of all ages.

With the support of the British Red Cross and Co-op, Home-Start has been running a project to help tackle loneliness by running groups for mums under 25 to gather, chat and redevelop their confidence.

13 local Home-Starts across the UK have delivered projects under this partnership, building both on Home-Start’s core work with young families and our 2006 publication "Overcoming Isolation, A Study of Isolated and Lonely Families Supported by Home-Start". British Red Cross and Co-op produced further research in 2016 in this area, highlighting continuing issues - Escaping the Bubble - summary report.

“I’m so glad I found this place. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. They’ve sort of brought me out of my shell. Brought my confidence up. Any time you’re having a bad day they’re there. It’s great. I absolutely love it.”

Charlene

A full project evaluation "Start where mum is: Reducing loneliness in young mothers" is now available. Among our findings were:

• Two thirds of the young mums showed a positive change in relation to a Loneliness Scale score, with half of these changes meaning they were classed as ‘not lonely’ by the end of the project.
• More than half of project beneficiaries had increased levels of engagement with wider services by the end of the project e.g. GP, dentist, housing advice & children’s centres.

You can read the full project evaluation, here

We also made a series of recommendations for others working in this area, including:

• Start where mum is. We found it important to meet mums on their terms, often at home or in public spaces, and not to expect their involvement in groups and activities straight away. 
• Create safe and non-judgemental spaces for support.  The young mums involved in our project said they often felt judged and that this stopped them from engaging with other services. 

“If it wasn’t for Home-Start I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I would still be isolated. My confidence has gone through the roof. I’m a completely different person to what I was before.” 

Shannon

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