Are you keen to help parents and children in your community?
Do you have an understanding of issues surrounding the challenges within a family?
By volunteering just a few hours each week with Home-Start Herefordshire you can transform the lives of young children and their parents.

After our in-house training, our volunteers are matched with a family to support. All volunteers bring their unique skills and experience to the families they visit with their time and friendship making a significant impact on the families they support.

The Commitment
To ensure we give the best support to families; we ask volunteers to spend 2-3 hours once a week for up to six months supporting their family.
A willingness to accept regular support, training and supervision from the staff at Home-Start Herefordshire.
We recognise that volunteers may stop volunteering at any time due to their circumstances changing, but we hope our volunteers will be able to offer their time to Home-Start for a minimum of 12 months.

What it takes to be a Home-Start Volunteer
Some experience of engaging with children is preferred.
No special skills or qualifications, just a non-judgmental attitude and understanding about the pressures within a family.
Attendance at our free Volunteer Preparation Course with other new volunteers.
An understanding that your support for families is completely confidential.
Undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check at enhanced level.
Meet regularly with, and be supported by, one of our co-ordinators during the time you are visiting families.

We offer families support in many different ways and together we decide on the best approach to give.
Challenges our families can get help with include:
Abuse
Bereavement
Disability
Divorce/Separations
Financial worries
Isolation
Neurodivergence
Poor mental/physical health
Postnatal depressions
School readiness