Referral

Home-Start aims to give support to families who may be struggling to cope with a variety of challenges, including post-natal illness, disability, isolation, the demands of parenting young children, bereavement and multiple births: helping prevent these difficulties from escalating into crises, and crises from developing into family breakdown.
In any local community Home-Start will be one of several organisations working with families and we value our relationships with other agencies. Since Home-Start is a voluntary organisation it can offer a flexible approach to individual families.

Home-Start support is not a substitute for professional services but complementary to them, and the best results are achieved through an active partnership between professionals and Home-Start.

The main referrers to Home-Start are health visitors and professionals in the social care and child care sectors. Others include GP’s and those working in the fields of mental health, education, early years and probation. Around a quarter of families self refer.

How to refer a family to Home-Start

You should:

  • Discuss Home-Start with the family – they MUST agree to receive Home-Start support.
  • Establish that the family has at least one child under five – this is key to Home-Start support.
  • Contact your local Home-Start and speak to the organiser.
  • Complete a referral form, which indicates the family’s needs.
  • If you wish to self-refer, please contact the office and we will arrange to come out and see you as soon as possible.

Your local Home-Start will:

  • Set up an initial visit with the family to discuss their needs and tell them all about Home-Start.
  • Carefully match the skills and experiences of a volunteer to the needs of the family.
  • Introduce the volunteer to the family (this may take time and if a suitable match can not be made then you will be informed).
  • Let you know when Home-Start support starts and ends.
  • Keep you informed, within confidentiality guidelines, about progress.

Across the UK thousands of Home-Start volunteers visit families at home each week, supporting parents in diverse situations. They provide non-judgemental practical and emotional support and help build the family’s confidence and ability to cope. Home-Start runs more services and has more volunteers supporting more families than any other family support charity in the UK.