Family Befriending Support - Tameside & Oldham

As a Home-Start volunteer, you will be matched with a family who has at least one child under the age of 5. Our volunteers visit their family at home for around 2 hours every week, providing support tailored to the family's needs. The families we support face a wide range of issues, such as loneliness and isolation, ill health, mild to moderate mental health difficulties, bereavement, multiple births, first time parenthood or children with additional needs. We believe every parent wants to give their children the best start in life, and we aim to provide friendly, non-judgemental support to help them do that - we know parenting isn't always easy! Our volunteers provide a sympathetic ear, and help with everyday activities - this might be playing with the children, accompanying a family to the park or to a toddler group, or listening to a parent's concerns and offering support, reassurance and information. You'll be supported by a Home-Start coordinator, who will match you with a family, who you'll then visit each week. We aim to acheive a 'good match' so you'll get on well with the family you support, and you'll receive full training and be able to contact your coordinator or our office if you ever feel you need support! As you will be supporting parents and children in their own homes, it is essential that you can empathise with the challenges of parenthood and family life, and see these in the context of the family's wider situation. We are currently offering a hybrid training models, with a mixture of online and in-person sessions. We hope to be moving to fully in-person courses soon. Please do give us a call on 0161 344 0669 if you would like to have a chat about volunteering with us, or ask any questions in person!
Duration: Ongoing
When can volunteers volunteer? Weekly
Availability:

This grid shows when you can volunteer for this organisation. E.G Monday morning.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Tasks the volunteer will be required to do:

Visiting a family on a regular basis (usually weekly), to provide support, reassurance and information.

Training:

All volunteers undertake an initial Preparation Course, following which they can be matched with a family. There are a range of training opportunities available with different projects following the preparation course.

Skill and Qualifications Required:

Empathy, talking to others, listening, experience of parenting.

Areas of Interest: Children, Community, Families, Social care, Social Welfare
Opportunity suitable for: Home, Indoor, Long term commitment, Older people, People seeking work, Other, 18 and over
What activities will the volunteer do? Befriending, Lending a helping hand, Mentoring, Providing advice, Support Work
Skills gained in this role: Counselling, Listening, Talking to others, Teamwork
Home based opportunity? No
DBS Check Required: Yes
Opportunity Accessibility: Clearly marked accessible parking spaces, Step free access clearly signposted into the building, Accessible toilets

About the host organisation

Hosted by: Home-Start Oldham, Stockport & Tameside
Organisation Profile: We are a local, independent charity operating in Oldham, Stockport & Tameside - one of 269 Home-Start schemes operating in the UK. At the heart of each Home-Start’s work are our home-visiting volunteers. Volunteers help families with young children deal with the challenges they face by providing regular one-to-one emotional and practical support tailored to each family. A child’s early family life is vitally important in their development, and has a strong influence on their future life chances. Children who are raised in a stable, loving, family environment are more likely to have a positive and healthy future. Home-Start works because our volunteers are parents. They understand how hard it can be. They work alongside parents, in their own homes, to help them learn to cope with the stresses and strains of life and make sure they have the skills, confidence and strength they need to nurture their children. We also support families in groups, hold day trips and Christmas parties and help them to access local services, as well as lots of other support.
Charity number: 1135838