Getting Support
Many parents need help, friendship, advice or support during those early years. There is no rulebook for raising a family and sometimes it can seem overwhelming, particularly if your family is going through difficult times.
As a parent you might ask for Home-Start's help for all sorts of reasons:
- You may be in need of a break
- You may be feeling isolated in your community, have no family nearby and be struggling to make friends
- You may be finding it hard to cope because of your own or your child's illness
- You may have been hit hard by the death of a loved one
- You may be really struggling with emotional and physical demands of having twins or triplets - perhaps born into an already large family
Help is at hand. We will endeavour to support all families who ask for help where possible and where a support plan is agreed. Support is confidential. All staff and volunteers are required to be members of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme (PVG).
How to make a referral
Please contact us in the first instance to ensure there is a volunteer available, then download and complete our referral form and send it to: manager@homestartlorn.org.uk for for all referrals.
Are you unsure about the families Home-Start can support? You may be interested in looking at our booklet “A Referrer's Guide” to the UK's leading family support service.
Home-Start Lorn will accept a referral from any source as long as:
- the family has at least one child under the age of five
- the family is suffering stress or experiencing difficulties. See Who we can help
- the family have given their consent
Home-Start Lorn works alongside other agencies from both the statutory and voluntary sector, and receives referrals from:
- Health Visitors
- Social Services
- Education
- Nurseries/family centres
- Community Psychiatric Nurses
- Other voluntary organisations, e.g. Soroba Young Family Centre, Women’s Aid.
- Argyll well-being hub
- Hope Kitchen
- Families are also able to refer themselves
What happens next?
Once a family has been referred and a referral form has been completed, the co-ordinator will arrange to visit the family to discuss their needs and answer any questions they may have. The co-ordinator will then work with the family to create a support plan to best meet the family's needs and identify which of our three support options will be introduced to meet these needs.