A NEW scheme giving vulnerable families social support at home is recruiting volunteers.

Home-Start Better Start, which began this week, is the first project of 2017 for Big Lottery-funded Better Start Bradford (BSB), which helps children in some of the city’s most disadvantaged areas to have a good beginning in life.

The Home-Start scheme will match families who are experiencing difficulties and have zero to three-year-olds with a trained volunteer, who will visit them in their own homes in the Bowling, Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton areas.

Anyone who volunteers as a peer mentor will go through an intensive training course first so they can give support with parenting skills, emotional and moral support, practical support, reassurance and encouragement as well as be able to refer families on to other Better Start Bradford projects in the area.

Jane Broder, family and volunteer co-ordinator at Home-Start Better Start, said: “We are really looking forward to matching Home-Start Better Start volunteers with families and providing the emotional and practical support to help parents feel they can better cope with the stresses of daily life.

“As coordinator I’m here to bring together volunteers and families to ensure the best supportive relationship.

“Through our preparation course, volunteers with parenting experience will build on their existing life skills to provide high level support to local families.”

This week saw the first Home-Start Better Start preparation course and volunteers will start going out to homes in April, added Ms Broder.

Michaela Howell, director of Better Start Bradford, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside Home-Start Bradford to deliver a bespoke Home-Start project that complements our outcomes around improved social and emotional development, health and nutrition and language and communication.

“Home-Start is a well-established scheme and model that we know works well. Their aim, along with ours, is to help families give their children the best start in life.”

The home programme is just one of 22 projects being set up by BSB which is one five ‘A Better Start’ programmes around the country.

There are still another ten projects due to be set up in Bradford later this year but schemes already up and running include language courses for pregnant women with English needs and a free books scheme to encourage reading.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a volunteer should contact Jane Broder on 01274 666711 or email bsb@homestartbradford.co.uk

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