Cost of living: Home Start Suffolk sees demand more than double

Tara Spence, chief executive of Home Start Suffolk, says demand has increased due to the pandemic and the cost of living crisis

A charity that has supported families for 23 years says it needs more volunteers after demand for its services more than doubled in a year.

Home Start Suffolk said the number of families accessing support went from 600 in 2020-21 to 1,500 in 2021-22.

It said it wanted to recruit and train more volunteers to ensure it could cope with the rising level of demand.

The charity put the increase down to the after effects of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

Home Start volunteers provide families - with at least one child aged under 12 - with emotional and practical support, including talking to them on the phone, visiting them at home, helping parents grow in confidence and signposting them to further support.

Chief executive Tara Spence said the families would be struggling even without the cost of living crisis, "but this adds that extra pressure, all those extra worries, the fear of what might happen".

The charity provides families, with at least one child aged under 12, with emotional and practical support

She said the number of people needing support was "really scary" but there were even more who were "too scared or under too much pressure" to ask for help.

"So we need to be able to have that support available and to have those volunteers available for when people do ask," she said.

'100% a life-saver'

Home-Start Suffolk helped mum-of-five to rediscover her confidence

Mum-of-five Stephanie was supported by Home Start Suffolk after she lost the confidence to leave her house.

The single mum said her youngest two were born during the coronavirus lockdown.

"I felt really alone, I was on my own a lot of the time with a newborn, a one-year-old and then older kids. My mental health was horrendous," she said.

She said she was referred to Home Start Suffolk and at first would speak to volunteer Kathryn on the phone and, after lockdown restrictions eased, would meet up with Kathryn in person.

Stephanie said she would go for a walk with Kathryn and "little bit by little bit, I just kind of got my confidence back".

She said, through Home Start Suffolk, she was signposted to another help group where she met some "absolutely amazing women" with whom she is still in contact.

Stephanie said Home Start Suffolk was "100%" a life-saver for her.

Ms Spence said the charity had 280 volunteers across the county but needed more people willing to give up their time.

"Volunteers make such a big difference to families lives," she said.

"They are not there to judge, they are there to walk that walk with them, to help understand the pressures they are under and help to do something about it."

Volunteer Darrell Smith says helping others can be "very rewarding" and make a "huge difference"

Darrell Smith, who started to volunteer with the charity before the coronavirus pandemic, said volunteering could be "very rewarding".

When he first started with Home Start Suffolk, he delivered food parcels during the pandemic.

He has since progressed to giving telephone support and, going forward, will carry out home visits.

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Mr Smith said: "The main reason to do it is to help people out in a situation that they might not see any way out of and just through giving a little bit of time, you can hear back and see the progression and the change.

"It makes a huge difference just by a small phone call."