At Home-Start York, we know that being a parent isn't always easy and that life can bring stress and challenges that get in the way of an enjoyable family time. To help parents give their children the best start we offer a unique confidential family support service. We recruit volunteers from all communities and backgrounds in the city to visit families at home during a time in which the family is experiencing difficulties. They offer parents their time and support to help them grow in confidence and increase their ability to cope and build better lives for their children and themselves. Our volunteers are very carefully recruited and are all people who understand the demands of being a parent and bring care, kindness and understanding to their role. The Home-Start approach has a proven, lasting, positive impact on the development of children and the health and wellbeing of the family.

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Total raised so far £3,238
+ est. £709.50
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Asking for help often takes courage. With over 40 volunteers and four staff, over 100 local families each year improve their lives through working with us. To us, every family is unique. Each one has different circumstances, different dreams and hopes for the future. We’re there supporting and empowering – meeting need and led by family choices, their journey and their goals.
Our team ethos is one of choice, partnership, openness, encouragement, flexibility, responsiveness and enjoyment.
Here for York since 1988, our charity has supported hundreds of parents and children over those years. Your gift can help us reach more. Your support is really valuable in sustaining our work for local families.
"Thank you so much for the help. It's given me the strength to make myself feel human again to remember the things I've enjoyed, to enjoy parenting again and to not beat myself up about the little things. I've really enjoyed and appreciated all the help me and my children have had." One of the parents our volunteers supported.
We asked our volunteers why they give so much time to support the families we work with. They told us they help families to keep their heads above the water. That their work often saves families from falling into the costly social services safety net, saving families from distress and saving precious public money.
They are powered by a belief that “when someone feels invisible in today’s society, the very act of another person giving their time to listen to their voice is the powerful beginning for change”.
Please support us if you can. Your gift, large or small goes a long way, is appreciated and changes lives. Having a Home-Start York volunteer support in a society where normality is no longer normal and families are struggling with isolation, loneliness, increased mental health issues combined with the worries of making ends meet and feeding their kids is very much valued. Home-Start York volunteers offer support and stability and that voice to be heard when it feels like the world isn’t listening.
Your donation will help sustain our work. We'll put it towards everything from keeping our volunteers fully trained and supported in their roles, to paying the costs of them travelling to weekly home visits, staff meeting with parents to set up and review their needs, or our work with NHS, council and charity referrers to make sure we can reach those who need us.
Thank you for your generosity.