Volunteer

You don’t need any special qualifications to volunteer with Home-Start, but our volunteers will usually have first-hand experience of young children and family life, and care about making a difference to parents in the early years. Our volunteers are as diverse as the families we support – we work in multicultural communites, and believe everyone has valuable skills and experience to offer, whether you were a young parent yourself and want to enhance your career options, or are retired and looking to pass on your wealth of experience and care while meeting new people.

Your most valuable asset is your time – time to be there for a family, helping out with some of the challenges of having a young family and being someone a parent can talk to without fear of judgment. Simply having someone understanding to talk to can empower families facing difficult situations.

You’ll attend an initial training course to learn more about Home-Start, how we support families, situations you might come across, and to give you the opportunity to ask any questions and get confident about your role as a volunteer. Once you’re volunteering, you’ll have a coordinator who will offer regular support, and access to further training opportunities.

What is takes to be a Home-Start volunteer

• As a Home-Start volunteer you will support a family by visiting them at home for around two to three hours once a week.
• You should be able to commit at least one year of your time to Home-Start.
• You should have a non-judgmental attitude and understand about the pressures of bringing up a family.
• You will have to attend our free Volunteer Preparation Course with other new volunteers before meeting your first family.
• When visiting a family travel expenses are paid.
• You must understand that your support for families is completely confidential.
• You will have to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check at enhanced level.
• You will meet regularly with, and be supported by, one of our coordinators during the time you are visiting families.

Training

Home-Start recruits parent volunteers from the heart of the community, to offer practical & emotional support for local families.

There are various volunteer opportunities within Home-Start Rochdale and Bury. We have home visiting volunteers, volunteers who help support with admin tasks, group support volunteers, volunteers who help with DIY tasks, and Trustees who manage the charity overall.

Home-Start Coordinators provide regular support and supervision sessions for volunteers who deliver home visiting and group support. They are always at the end of the phone for advice and guidance if needed. Coordinators support volunteers to build on a wealth of practical experiences in supporting families in the community.

Following on from the volunteer Course of Preparation, the volunteers access additional training in Safeguarding, Autism Awareness, BME Awareness and PIMHS (Parent Infant Mental Health). Volunteering for Home-Start can be a stepping stone into a future career or training opportunity.

We ask all new volunteers to commit at least 12 months support for our charity, to ensure families receive continuous help. Many volunteers have left the scheme by gaining employment in childcare within Children’s Centres, Young Carers, School mentoring, Education Welfare and many more. Volunteers have gained employment within Home-Start schemes in Rochdale and Bury and across Greater Manchester.