Home-Start HOST is a local charity of trained volunteers and dedicated, experienced staff. We help families with young children flourish during the years of early childhood, supporting parents across Tameside, Oldham, Stockport, Bolton & Glossop.
M is a single parent to 3 young children (ages 10, 4 and 1). M also cares for her 18-year old son who suffered brain damage as a result of a road traffic accident. The family live in the Waterhead area of Oldham. M was referred to Home-Start for support as she was struggling with anxiety and leaving the house with the children. M also wanted support to access services for her mental health. M told our coordinator just before Christmas that one of the doors had fallen off her fridge freezer, and that because of this she wasn’t able to properly store food, as she could not afford to replace it. She was trying to tape the door on to keep the food cold, but was worried it would fall on one of the children, so was keeping them out of the kitchen to keep them safe. However, this could be challenging as her 4 and 1 year old often want to be close to her when she is cooking.
M was hoping that we would be able to signpost her to places where she would be able to get a cheap fridge/freezer, or knew of any services who could help her with this. The coordinator felt the need was urgent, and knew that our organisation was providing support with emergency essentials such as this through the Household Support Fund.
The families coordinator spoke to her manager, who was distributing the Household Support Fund, about the family and their needs and they agreed they could allocate £200 to cover the cost of a new fridge/freezer. The coordinator filled out a quick and easy form with the families details to request support from the fund.
Following this, we were able to allocate a £200 voucher to M on the same day to enable her to purchase a new fridge/freezer. The outcomes of this meant that the family were able to safely store food, and also had a safer kitchen/home so the children can now play alongside Mum in the kitchen safely. This has also supported M’s wellbeing, as her stress levels have been greatly reduced as a result. M was absolutely relieved and so grateful. M text her coordinator saying, “This is amazing, thank you so much. My vouchers have just come through now, going to look at buying one now. I really appreciate your help”.