Sleaford REP Community Liaison Panel awarded a grant to a charity working in Sleaford to help vulnerable families. The Preparation Course of volunteers funded by the Panel commenced on May 12^th and was completed during 14^th July 2014.

The 40 hour course covered the following topics:-

The role of a Home-Start volunteer: values and attitudes, family life – parents and children, family life - stress factors, communication skills, community support networks, child development, safeguarding, confidentiality, commitment, boundaries and support,  personal safety, home visiting and the mechanics of Home-Start and endings.

Since the beginning of June, 17 Sleaford families have been referred for our support, 12 of the referrals have been for home visiting and staff support, 1 family did not take up our offer and  the remainder attended our family Group.     The families in Sleaford have been referred for a variety of reasons including depression, isolation, domestic abuse, alcohol misuse, new baby in the family, number of children under the age of 5 years.

We have recently requested feedback from the families that we are currently supporting and below is a sample of their comments:-

What do you like about Home-Start?

• Having someone to talk to
• Like a friend
• Everyone is helpful and friendly
• Friendly always here when needed
• That a responsible adult comes to my house and supports me.  My children look forward to having our volunteer as it means more quality time with them.
• I like it when people come to my home.

How do you think we can improve the support we offer?

• I think the service is already invaluable and they do so much already
• No improvement – always a phone call away or call in the office if needed
• I think that you would struggle to improve the service

How do you think Home-Start helped?

• Someone to talk to
• Emotional support
• Practical support
• Filling in forms
• Fun, development and friendship
• One of my main lifelines
• Shoulder to cry on

A spokesperson for HomeStart said: "The funding from the Community Liaison Panel has played a very important part in the delivery of our service in Sleaford Town and we thank you very much for your grant."