Feature Home Start

feature

Home-Start in Royston – 30 years of supporting young families

Home-Start is a unique organisation training volunteers who visit and support families with at least one child under 5 years of age. Young families who struggle to bring up their family in time of isolation, stress, challenge and great difficulties.

The National organisation was started in Leicester by Margaret Harrison in the 1970’s when she realised so many families were missing the vital family support that had been available in a former, less mobile, society. Formerly a young mother facing the trials and difficulties and lacking parenting experience, were able to call on a mother, aunt or older sibling close by for help and support. Modern society sees young parents often miles away from family & friends. Alone, they were facing the difficulties of post-natal depression, multiple births, children with special needs, dysfunctional or bereaved family life.

Margaret Harrison realised that in the same society was a wealth of knowledge and genuine desire to help from those who had faced difficulties themselves raising their own family who, now that they had grown, could offer some time to helping others. She set about recruiting volunteers who, with a little training, could visit those hard pressed families and offer wise council, a shoulder to lean on or just be someone who listened to their story and demonstrate some tried and tested ways of dealing with their problems. This simple solution was an immediate success and countless families have ‘got through’ those difficult times with confidence restored knowing that someone cared about them and their problems. Indeed with the passage of time some of those who had been helped were able to volunteer to support other young families themselves.

In the autumn of 1981 Joan Richards, working for Social Services, attended a meeting in Stevenage where Margaret Harrison had talked about her work in Leicester. She was so impressed at the results of this formula she told the Health Visiting team who felt that Royston would benefit greatly if a Home-Start organisation was established here. Margaret Harrison herself attended an open meeting at Royston Health Centre of people who worked both professionally and voluntarily with under-fives in the area. So much enthusiasm and interest was generated that a steering committee with Beverley Turner as Lead was formed to apply for funding and to recruit volunteers.

From May to July in 1982 our first preparation course was held for prospective volunteers. Professionals from health and social services gave their own time and expertise to support the course. A Family Group was started at the Methodist Church Hall once a week, which gave parents the chance to meet and make friends in the town and gave the children a chance to play and relate to other children. Home-Start Royston was in business.

With the invaluable support of Lord Laming who was at that time director of Social Services in Hertfordshire (later to chair the Victoria Climbie report) the steering committee finally managed to secure funding. Sue Everett was appointed as the first paid coordinator in February 1983. Since then the scheme has gone from strength to strength and responding to needs, they later expanded into South Cambridgeshire.

Eventually one room on the first floor of the Health Centre was not large enough to cope with administration and in 2008 a move was made to a new office in Meldreth. The Royston Family Group remains an important part of our service and the majority of families receiving support live in or near to the town.

Families are mostly referred to Home-Start by Health professionals who are our greatest supporters be they Health Visitors or Doctors, some families self-refer once they hear of our service. The volunteers come from all walks of life and age groups; the only stipulation is that they are parents and have raised their children themselves.

All volunteers receive training, which gives them the confidence to visit a carefully matched family in need. All families are visited on a regular basis with the volunteers fully supported and monitored by paid staff.

The Trustees, also volunteers, bring a variety of life skills needed to run the scheme; we need to comply with modern regulations, to employ professional staff, to maintain an income sufficient for the increasing demands of the current scheme, to present annual accounts and run the scheme as effectively as possible.

The scheme is planning a new training session this autumn for new home-visiting volunteers. Anyone who would like to offer help by joining the Board of Trustees who meet 6 times a year, or support the fundraising events team will be greeted with open arms. We are a positive fun group of local people from a variety of backgrounds but with the common motivation to support young families facing difficult times. Learn more about us on our website. 30 years is quite a landmark and we are planning an event in early October to which we hope anyone, who has been associated with the scheme as a volunteer, as a family or as a trustee, will join us. Invitations will be sent to those whom are known to the present staff but of course many from the early years will have moved or lost contact with the scheme and we hope they will hear of our plans and contact the office for more details. It is amazing to think that children who were supported at the beginning will now be raising their own families and we hope that the work we did all those years ago is still relevant and being passed on to the current generation. Home-Start Royston and South Cambridgeshire Unit 6, Valley Farm, Station Road, Meldreth, Royston, Herts, SG8 6JP 01763 262262 www.hsrsc.co.uk - admin@hsrsc.co.uk

We print 2200 copies of the Melbourn Magazine which is delivered free to every house in the village four times a year. Note: colour advert space is limited, please contact us for further details. Adverts should be supplied as finished artwork and must be at the sizes below. Please send artwork to mag@melbourn.org.uk. The current rates for advertising in the Magazine are as follows: Size per… Width x Height Annum Colour 1/4 inside page(79 × 128 mm) £87 £130 1/2 inside page(163 × 128 mm) £152 £216 Full inside page(163 × 262 mm) N/A £422

Adverts must be supplied as high resolution jpgs or 300dpi Tif or eps.

For further information on advertising please telephone 220363 or 220463. Remittance or cheques should be made to Melbourn Magazine.

The Melbourn magazine team would like to thank all our advertisers for their support and sponsorship

Advertisers Type of business Tel. No. Advertisers Type of business Tel. No.

Activenesse All Eyes Amber Osteopathy Austral Crosby Fitness Fun 07914 586218

Spectacle Makers

01954 231545 Osteopathic & Sports Injury Clinics 01462 742942 Chartered Accountants 01763 222111

Baby Sensory Baker Associates Classes for babies Ground Water systems

07966 789 785 01763 262726 Bannold Landscaping Materials 01954 231666 Bassingbourn Golf Club Scenic 9 Hole / 18 Tee golf course 01223 793333 Bowater Price Local Vehicle Specialists 01763 220996 Bretts Plumbing and Heating 01763 260007 Bury Lane Farm Shop Fresh produce, Coffee shop 01763 260418 Butlers Taxi and Car Service 01763 212223 Cambridge Building Society Building Society 01763 217510 Cambourne Self Storage Secure Storage 01767 676189 Carters Shoes Shoes – wide choice 01223 264930 Cheap Storage Secure Storage 01763 262344 Chris Thomas Professional Cleaning 01223 836002 CHS (Moorlands Court) Homecare & Meals Service 01763 260564 Cloudy2Clear Window repair 0800 6121118 Cooper, P.L. & Sons Ltd Flooring Specialists 01763 260918 Dan Alder Painting & Decorating 07843 621 885 The Dolphin Pub & Restaurant 01763 226004 ESSE Retail Therapy 01763 261000 Fen Feeds Animal feeds 01223 260082 Fieldgate Nurseries Fruit, vegetables, flowers & plants 01763 260737 Fowlmere Village Hall Hall Facilities 08704 649 200 Frogend Pet Supplies Pet supplies 01763 263342 Greenlow Kennel & Cattery 01763 260624 H20 Gas, Heating & Plumbing 01945 428757 Harmony Day Spa Beauty & Holistic treatments 01763 448197 Home Store Bathroom & Tiling 01763 245888 Jazzercise Dance based Fitness 07703 422394 Jeremy Ashworth Electrician & Property Maintenance 01763 230831 Jeremy Rule Funeral Service 01763 242560 Julie Newby Beauty Therapist 01763 208387 Kathleen Harry B.Sc.Hons. Osteopath 01223 842978

Langford Windows Law Storage Leech & Sons The Letting Centre Little Hands Glazing Specialists Secure storage Butchers Letting Agency Nursery School 01462 701828 01223 874629 01763 260255 01763 263039 01763 260964

Mel-bourn2Swim Melbourn Flooring Melbourn Garage Melbourn Ironing Service M&M Books Swimming School

01763 262344 Flooring, Tiling & Home Interiors 01763 262413 MOT and Servicing 01763 263344 01763 220996

Second hand & rare books

01763 849789 M&M Furniture Antique and Secondhand furniture 07596 990 660 Millside Cabinet Makers Bespoke furniture 01763 261870 Molly Maid Cleaning Services 01462 896123 Phillimore Garden Centre 01763 260537 Prince Property Improvements Property Repairs 01763 269565 The Red Lion Hotel & Restaurant 01223 832047 Redgate Plastering Plasterers 07588 472 691 Rothwells Carpet Cleaning 01223 832928 Rubber Roofing company Roofing Solutions 01763 869035 Simon Robinson Picture Frames 01223 873123 Siobhan Costello Complementary Therapies 01480 831580 South Cambs Motors Motor Car Servicing 01763 260246 The Spice Hut Indian Takeaway 01763 262425 Sprint Printers Printers and Copiers 01763 263339 St Georges Nursing Home 01763 242243 Taylor & Co Chartered Accountants 01763 248545 Tree Tops Small tree work 01223 208733 Urban Plastics Plumbing, electrical supplies 01763 262337 Walnut Medical Healthcare Information 01763 223223 Warners Letting Agency 01763 242528 Wrights Mower Centre Garden Machinery Supply & Maint. 01763 263393

A DVERTISERS z INE A g A M