Fears charity supporting young familes may close

Home-Start Straffordshire Moorlands helps families with a variety of needs

Bosses at a charity, which has been helping families with young children for almost 30 years, say it may be forced to close its doors due to a major funding shortfall.

Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands in Leek has supported thousands of families, they said, with issues such as new parenthood, bereavement, finances, mental health crises and domestic abuse.

However, rising costs and fewer funding opportunities meant the charity now faced uncertainty of its own over the future of its services.

The organisation provides one-to-one, in-home support with trained local volunteers which is described as a lifeline for parents and their children.

Support offered includes help for those living with postnatal depression, financial hardship, disability, bereavement, SEN challenges or isolation.

They said they offer practical help and a non-judgemental presence.

The charity also runs regular parent-and-child groups to reduce isolation.

Julie Bennett, chair of trustees, said many charities were finding it difficult to get by, and that they were not funded by the national charity is was affiliated to.

"All our funding is what we find for ourselves – our two main funders, Children In Need and lottery funding, but that doesn't give us absolutely everything we need to retain the staff and support the volunteers."

'A real struggle'

She said they were facing a shortfall of about £20,000 this year, and that increased competition for grants had meant difficulty when applying for funding.

There had more recently been some support from the local community, with sponsored bike rides and sponsored runs helping to bring in some extra funds.

"Long-term if Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands didn't exist, then that's putting pressure on other services, the statutory services, that would maybe eventually have to pick up some of the work," Ms Bennett said.

She said there were worries some families might not be able to access support, as a result.

Marion Aston, a former chair of trustees at the charity, was among the first people the charity supported after she gave birth to triplets.

She said her family did not live locally and that the charity stepped in to help her cope with the changes in her family life.

Without the help received from Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands, she said: "I think family life would've become a real struggle.

"I'm not sure I could have coped."

Her role on the board had been "a way to give back" she added.

Ms Aston added: "For every family that's happily walking around at the playground today, there may well be a little crisis that blows up tomorrow – and that's what Home-Start is there for."