Parent-Infant Family Support Volunteer - Tameside & Oldham
- Have you experienced post-natal illness and would like to support someone else on their journey?
- Do you have an interest in early attachment and the parent-infant relationship?
- Would you like to gain experience supporting positive relationships by providing friendly peer support to new and expectant parents?
Home-Start Oldham, Stockport & Tameside have an established Parent-Infant Mental Health (PIMH) partnership, working with health professionals across Tameside, Oldham, Stockport & Bolton.
The first 1000 days of a child's life are a crucial time for their development and wellbeing, and having the right support during this time can make a huge difference to families and children, both now in in their future.
Our volunteers provide a sympathetic ear, and help with everyday activities - this might be helping a family get out to the park or to a baby group, listening to a parent's concerns and offering support, reassurance and information. You'll learn how to 'keep baby in mind' during your support, and gently focus on helping parents build a strong and secure relationship with baby.
You'll be supported by a Home-Start coordinator, who will match you with a family. You'll visit your family each week for a couple of hours. 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!
The main focus of this role is to support and encourage families with early relationships and mental health through peer befriending support, focusing on expectant mums and families with a child under 2. 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
Start date: 2nd November 2022
End date: 31st December 2023
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:
Attend training as relevant to your volunteering, visit a family each week to offer befriending support and support the formation of positive early relationships.
Training:
We offer a full Volunteer Preparation Course, which covers all aspects of our home-visiting support model. You will also be able to access further training in supporting famlies with Parent-Infant Mental Health.
Skill and Qualifications Required:
We ask that our volunteers are non judgmental and are good listeners
Areas of Interest: Children, Families, Mental Health, Social care, Women
Opportunity suitable for: Indoor, Long term commitment
What activities will the volunteer do? Befriending, Mentoring
Skills gained in this role: Listening, Talking to others
Home based opportunity? No
DBS Check Required: Yes
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
