If you are a parent or carer with at least one child under 5years old and are finding things tough for whatever reason, you can ask for free help.
Home-Start Perth was formed in 1984 and now supports around 90 families each year in the Perth & Kinross area who face problems such as
or who are just finding parenting a struggle.
If you live outwith the Perth & Kinross area, you can find details for your local Home-Start scheme on the Home-Start UK website
How do we help?
Home-Start volunteers visit families regularly, normally once a week for a couple of hours, in their own homes. Our leaflet "
Help for your Family" will explain more about Home-Start Perth.
The volunteer will talk to the family and together they will decide how to spend their time sometimes this may just be talking while other visits may provide more practical help; perhaps with shopping, playing with the children or attending medical appointments. Above all, the volunteer will provide friendly support for as long as it is needed and reassurance that problems are not unusual when you are bringing up children. Some families have support for only a few months while others have a volunteer for longer the decision to end the visits will be made jointly by the family and Home-Start Co-ordinator.
As well as home visiting, Home-Start Perth holds informal family group sessions in Coupar Angus and Blairgowrie where parents and children can socialise and meet new friends. For more details, see the section on
Family Groups
Home-Start Perth also runs a group called
Mums in Mind for mothers with post-natal depression. Mums with young babies can attend baby massage and group counselling sessions, run by qualified practitioners. A maximum of six mums are taken into the group at any one time. Speak to your health visitor or
contact us for more details.
Who are the volunteers?
Home-Start volunteers come from different backgrounds and are of varying ages but all have parenting experience and understand the everyday difficulties that can arise in families. All volunteers attend a course of preparation before starting to support families and some of our volunteers have been helped by Home-Start themselves.
Home-Start support is confidential and personal information about you or your family will not be passed on to anyone outside Home-Start without your consent unless there is concern about the safety or welfare of a child. You can choose whether or not to accept Home-Start help and can change your mind at any time.
