100 Tower Gardens Road, London, N17 7QA
We are very grateful to our existing volunteers who do such a wonderful job. They are essential to Home-Start Haringey Hackney and Waltham Forest, but we need to keep training new volunteers each year to ensure that we can support all the families who are referred. Please do consider joining us. We ask that volunteers have experience of parenting, be non-judgemental and understand the need for confidentiality. You would also need to have a caring attitude, as well as being prepared to provide 2 references, and undergo an enhanced DBS check. Please be prepared to commit to Home-Start for a year after your initial training.
As a Home-Start volunteer you would be carefully matched with a family, after which you can expect to support that family in their home for 2-3 hours a week. How your time is spent with the family would depend on their needs. One family might need friendship and someone to talk to, whilst another might need more practical support such as accessing local services, help with budgeting, helping out with a shopping trip, advising on children’s behaviour or attending meetings and giving them moral support.
All of our volunteers take part in our initial preparation programme which takes place one day a week over a 5-week period, after which you would be encouraged to join our regular support groups.
Home-Start supports its volunteers through one to one supervision with a co-ordinator on a regular basis, together with informal support group meetings with other scheme volunteers. Great emphasis is placed on the personal development of the volunteer. The volunteer receives travel expenses incurred whilst visiting a family.
For more information you can download the following leaflet:
You can download the volunteer application form and either return it to us by email. Contact details are on the form itself.
Once we receive your application form we will contact you to arrange an interview, and if this is successful you will be invited to join the next preparation course.