Home-Start named Charity of the year at the recent Down District Council Chairman's Annual Awards

Established in 1990, Home-Start Down District is the longest running, indigenous, volunteer family support charity in Down District. With a scheme based in Downpatrick and two satellites in Ballynahinch and Newcastle, it has grown from supporting 22 families and 73 children in 1990 to supporting 286 families and 565 children families in the last financial year.
Home-Start helps families with young children deal with whatever life throws at them. We support parents as they learn to cope, improve their confidence and build better lives for their children. The benefits of our support include improved health and well-being and better family relationships.
In March 2011-12, funding for the Ballynahinch and Newcastle ceased and the two satellites were sustained through the Scheme’s reserves, which due to excellent financial stewardship were fit for purpose. We centralised and reduced our admin function, closed a building in Newcastle and reshaped our services so that we could continue to meet the spiralling demands of families under pressure in Down District.

Families under Pressure
Many Down District families are struggling to do their best for their children in this current economic climate, a job which is made ever more difficult by illness, disability, relationship difficulties, isolation, job insecurity or the devastating loss or absence of another parent. For these families, Home-Start is a community safety net, a vital helping hand helping them move towards a happier, more promising future.
Demand for Home-Start has doubled since 2009 to the present.
This growth in demand is supported by Save the Children research (2013) which found that 1 in 5 children in South Down are living in poverty. Down District CAB revealed that in 2011 they dealt with £1.5 million of debt.
Families are supported by volunteer parents who visit the family in their own home and through 8 Family Groups in Ballynahinch; Castlewellan, Crossgar; Drumaness and Newcastle. That support costs just £9 per week per child.
In contrast a House of Commons Report (2009) found that the average cost of taking a child into residential care was £2,428 per week or £676 per week to place the child in foster care.

A three year research project by Hermanns et al (2013) in the Netherlands found that Home-Start’s volunteer support has a positive impact for parents who are struggling to cope with their young families and that children are still benefiting up to three years after Home-Start support has stopped.

Investment in Volunteers
Home-Start recruits parents of all ages and all walks of life to support young families. We recruit volunteers 2-3 times a year, offering them an initial 8 week preparation course. Volunteers are then offered monthly training and support and grow themselves in confidence and skills. In addition to reducing the workload of statutory agencies, our 117 volunteers contribute 14000 hours per year supporting families representing a social capital investment of £88,340 in the local economy.

Home-Start – Charity of the Year
Home-Start has touched the lives of thousands of families over the last twenty years. Families who have had the courage to say they were struggling and ask for help. It has also touched the lives and the hearts of hundreds of volunteers who have had the privilege to offer a little bit of their time and their experience to another family.
Home-Start does make a difference. It transforms the lives of families, volunteers and staff and it helps parents create happy memories for their children. Winning this award recognises the amazing resilience of families and the generosity of volunteers across Down District!