Home-Start volunteers giving NI families in need the gift of time

Eight years ago, Tracey, 39, from Dunmurry, and her family received help from the organisation, Home-Start, a local community network of trained volunteers helping families with young children through challenging times.

Tracey said: “At first I was nervous about getting help but I had four children under four and I knew I needed just a little support to get me through the difficult time. Then my family was matched with our volunteer, Dorothy, and it was a match made in heaven. I was immediately put at ease and from day one Dot became a part of our family.”

Having experienced first-hand the positive impact a Home-Start volunteer can have on a local family, Tracey was passionate about making sure there was someone there for parents when they needed them most because, as she said, “childhood can’t wait”.

“Dorothy changed my life, now I want to give another family the same chance I had.”

It was because of this, Tracey decided to sign up as a volunteer with Home-Start Lisburn & Colin as a volunteer in the autumn of 2019 and had only started her training when COVID-19 led to a lockdown.

“I knew last year that I was in a place and position where I could give something back and I felt it was the right time to get involved. Sadly, due to the pandemic my training stopped but thankfully it’s restarted again and I have now completely finished it.

“I am really looking forward to meeting the family I’m matched with in 2021 as I strongly believe that through compassion, understanding a gift of time, I can help bring a little more hope and happiness to local families during difficult and sometimes dark times, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Retired nurse Avril O’Neill, who volunteers a few hours each week for Home-Start Antrim said: “When you see a smile replace total despair then you know the gift of time is the greatest gift anyone can give a local family.”

Avril, 61, met her first family in April 2019 and from the very start, she knew she had found a real sense of purpose after she retired.

“As a nurse, I was no stranger to helping people in need, but when I retired four years ago, I wanted to continue supporting people, but I wasn’t sure how and where. When I moved to Antrim three years ago, I realised I wanted to get more involved in my community and make a difference, using my experience and skills to help people.

“I got involved in a local church and then I got involved with Home-Start Antrim and I knew straight away this was what I wanted to do and in March 2019 I began the preparation training programme.”

Avril said Home-Start Antrim provides so many ways of helping local families.

“They run a family support morning weekly and also provide weekly home support visits for families and volunteers can help in either of these areas. I chose to be a home visiting volunteer and in April 2019 I was introduced to my first family and visited their home and offered compassion and understanding in a time when they needed a friend and a helping hand until January 2020.

“For two to three hours each week I was able to help bring a smile to mum, dad, a two-year-old and a little baby. I was able to provide emotional and physical support, providing mum with what she needed when she needed it. No week was ever the same as one day I might be playing with the children and the next week I might be out helping mum to attend a GP appointment. The family was a very capable family, dealing with a new addition to the family as well as significant illness and they just needed a little support during a difficult time. I developed a lovely friendship with the family and I still stay in touch with them today.”

Avril said to be a Home-Start volunteer, you need “common sense, some courage and some time”.

“My experience as a mum and a grandmother is what I bring to a family. These families don’t need rescued, they just need a little bit of support to allow them to find their own way forward.”

Avril added that being a volunteer has brought so many personal benefits.

“Getting involved with Home-Start Antrim give me the chance to meet and get to know local people and it has been the bedrock for a number of strong friendships.”

Speaking about the benefits for the local family, she said: “My current family had been struggling a little, but through volunteering, the family has had a chance to go out on a shopping trip during the summer. To many people going out shopping doesn’t seem like a big deal, but this smallest gesture can make a huge difference. To see that smile on a mum’s face makes me feel very privileged to have helped in some small way.”

Volunteers like Tracey and Avril are helping Home-Start Northern Ireland launch its ‘Give the gift of time’ volunteer appeal which aims to inform and inspire local people to volunteer an hour a week to support local families through this unprecedented crisis.

The campaign is specifically targeted at inspiring people to register as a volunteer in the Antrim, Carrickfergus, Craigavon, Lisburn, North Down and Omagh areas.

Alan Hanna, Northern Ireland director, Home-Start UK said: “We need volunteers like Tracey, Avril and many more amazing local heroes to help support Northern Ireland families especially through these challenging times when many families feel pushed to the point of breaking.

“Last year, our volunteers provided emotional and practical support to over 1,200 Northern Ireland families that were struggling to cope. It’s through our volunteers, that parents don’t just survive, they get a chance to thrive; so that our communities can build back better.”

Home-Start volunteers provide emotional and practical support to families struggling to cope and who may be facing issues like isolation, financial worries, bereavement, or mental and physical health challenges.”

Alan continued: “If you can spare an hour a week to support a family in your local community when they need it, then please get in touch today.

“Full and thorough training and support will be provided.

“The work of Home-Start volunteers has never been more urgent and important. We need volunteers now more than ever.”