Volunteers give 2,000 hours of help to families

Hundreds of hours of help were given to families by volunteers through Home-Start Newark over the past year.

A report presented to the annual meeting shows that 2,000 hours were given by volunteers who help support families at group sessions.

There were also more than 400 volunteer home visits, totalling 884 hours.

The charity has supported 55 families during the year, of which 24 have had a home-visiting volunteer.

It has supported six Syrian families who are part of the resettlement programme in Newark.

Senior organiser Elaine Rossall said the main focus over the past year was managing change.

Gaining funding has been hard and the charity no longer receives a £26,099 grant from the Newark and Sherwood Clinical Commissioning Group.

"The commitment and support from all involved in the scheme has been amazing and one of the main reasons why we have been successful in sustaining our home-start," said Mrs Rossall.

The charity has left its office on Barnbygate after 18 years and is now based at Newark and Sherwood District Council’s Castle House headquarters.

"Emptying the office after all those years was a tough job with the memories involved, the families we have supported and the numerous volunteers who have been through the preparation course in those offices," said Mrs Rossall.

"Our challenge is to develop a way to continue to be just as accessible to our families."

It uses a small office at Barnbygate Methodist Church Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays alongside family group sessions.

Family group worker Karen Saxelby said Children In Need had agreed to fund sessions for another five years.

The group gives parents the chance to socialise and get support from the charity and other parents.

"It is also a place where children can explore and learn as well as making friends and develop in all kinds of areas," Karen said.

The Big Hopes Big Future programme, which involves language, books and play work is a large feature of the sessions.

There is also messy play, which gives children the chance to explore and have sensory and creative experiences.

A total of 29 children are registered at the group.

There were creative activities for older children during the summer, amounting to 5,848 creative play hours a year.

The chairman, Jane Geraghty, said they continued to recruit volunteers and support increasingly complex families.

"Thank you to all our volunteers and staff without whom we would have no scheme," she said.