About Home-Start
In an ideal world Home-Start wouldn’t be needed. But for many parents the pressures of family life are simply too much to cope with alone. There are so many reasons for this including -poverty, illness, family breakdowns, isolation, addiction and physical and mental health issues.
And this is where Home-Start steps in…
Home-Start in Suffolk aims to give children the best possible start in life. We support parents to grow in confidence, strengthen their relationships with their children, improve their Health and wellbeing and widen their links locally.
The Home-Start Approach
Home-Start schemes are rooted in the community they serve. We are managed locally but are supported by a national organisation, Home-Start UK, which offers direction, training, information and guidance to schemes and ensures consistent and quality support for parents and children.
Home-Start has a proven, lasting, positive impact on the development of children and the health and welfare of the family.
Our Mission
Home-Start offers a unique service. We recruit and train volunteers, who are usually parents themselves, to visit families at home and offer them informal, friendly and confidential support. The families we help have at least one child under 12.
To help give children the best possible start in life, Home-Start supports parents as they grow in confidence, strengthen their relationship with their children and widen their links with the local community.
Our Vision
- Offering support and friendship
- Visiting families at home, where the dignity and identity of individuals can be respected and protected
- Developing relationships with the family in which they gain time to share their thoughts
- Encouraging parents’ strengths and wellbeing for the benefit of their children
- Encouraging families to widen their network enabling them to access support and services
- Encouraging and providing practical assistance to ensure that parents are attending required health appointments for themselves and dependents.
Staff
Tara Somers
Executive Manager
Alison Grant
Lead Co-ordinator
Louise Potter
Finance Co-ordinator
Senga Macro
Co-ordinator Central & South Suffolk
Sharon Ashton
Co-ordinator Lowestoft & Waveney
Jane Farrow
Co-ordinator West
Natalie Highland
Co-ordinator Coastal & Ipswich North & East
Vikki Gant
Co-ordinator Central & South Suffolk
Fiona Weller
Co-ordinator Ipswich South & West
Sarah Holmes
Administrator Martlesham
Charlotte Nowosad
Fundraising Co-ordinator & Data Entry
Rae Darnell
Administrator Beccles
Trustees
Diane Milan
Chairperson
Bob Taylor
Vice Chairperson & Safeguarding Advisor
Colin MacRae
Treasurer & Company Secretary
Helen Clarkson
Director & Fundraising Lead
John Allsop
Director
Steve Flory
Director
Annual Reports
Click on the files below to view our annual reports.
Independent Evaluation on Home-Start home-visiting and family group services by Steve Allman Consultancy.
