What we do
Being a parent has never been easy. It can be lonely, frustrating, heartbreaking and overwhelming. That’s why Home-Start Wokingham offers support to young families through their toughest times.
We are a small, local charity, offering a family support service to disadvantaged and vulnerable families in the Wokingham District, with at least one child under the age of five.
We are part of Home-Start UK which has some 13,500 home-visiting volunteers supporting over 27,000 families and 56,000 children to transform their lives.
Our home visiting service is unique in the Wokingham Borough, providing compassionate, confidential and non-judgmental help and friendship to local parents struggling to cope with the daily challenges of family life.
Our Aim
is to help give every child the best possible start in life.
Our objective
Is to enhance the chances for all young children to reach their full potential by supporting the whole family, encouraging them to face their particular challenges, increasing the parents’ confidence, strengthening their relationships with their children and widening their links in the local community.
Starting in the home, our approach is as individual as the people we’re helping
Our families face a wide range of issues, including mental and physical health problems, multiple births, a lack of confidence and isolation from their community. Many of our families have children with behavioural issues and/or learning difficulties that make their parenting challenges even harder. In most cases the families are referred to us because they have little or no other support.
We believe
That getting it right for every child starts with getting it right for every parent and that having a safe and happy family life is one of the most important prerequisites for children to thrive.
PARENTS SUPPORTING PARENTS
Our scheme coordinators supervise a pool of trained volunteers, who give parents the emotional and, where possible, the practical support they need to parent their children better, enabling them to really flourish.
We provide one to one support through our unique home visiting service. Our team of trained volunteers, who are usually parents themselves, work alongside parents providing compassionate, confidential and non-judgmental support. Through weekly visits to the family home, we give parents the tools they need to face their particular challenges. This support can be life changing.
Helping parents to cope with their daily parenting challenges, has a direct impact on their young children, who learn important social skills; reach developmental milestones; and start to reach their potential, within a supported family environment.