Home-Start are looking for volunteers in the Honiton area to provide support for families with young children.

Are you thinking about a change of career? The Volunteer Preparation Course is a free 6-week training course, which can be accredited with CERTA. Go to Awliscombe Village Hall on Tuesday, June 11 at 9.30am to find out how you can get involved.

As any new mum or dad will tell you - parenting can be tough. Certain circumstances, however, can make it extra difficult and that is where the charity, Home-Start, really makes a difference.

Nub News spoke to Sophie Cook who is heading a new initiative here in East Devon. She explained about the work that Home-Start does:

"Our volunteers are parents who have all had relevant parenting experience, plus training, and can support other families who may be struggling.

"There's a huge list of things that people struggle with; like having twins, being in an area you don't know, family break-downs, mum's mental health and anything really that disrupts the normal functioning of a family.

"So, the volunteers go in and they support the family one day a week, between 2-3 hours, and work alongside them. We're different to the statutory services who will go in and tell them what they need to be doing, this is all very much what the parents would like.

"We go and have a chat with them and discuss what areas they're struggling with and provide them with a volunteer who might be able to help."

The charity operates UK wide and has been running in Exeter for 36 years. There used to be a service which covered the Exmouth/Axminster area, however due to Lottery funding being retracted a few years ago, it fell through.

Sophie explains: "We've just received more funding to branch out again, so we're going to start-off by relaunching in Honiton. It's great to have something back in East Devon."

Reiterating the value of the support that Home-Start provides families, she said: "Everyone is just so busy nowadays, many people don't live near their families and even if they do the family is working full-time, so you don't have anyone to off-load to.

"Even if you go to groups, it can feel like you're the only one struggling, when in actual fact it's probably about 80% of people, but nobody tends to say that to each other.

"Home-Start is amazing. It's like having a friendly aunt popping in once a week to play with the children so that you can catch-up with your paper work, or your washing or anything that needs doing and then sit down and have a cup of tea with you to see if you're alright.

"The volunteers really enjoy it too. They get a lot out of helping other people and seeing how much the families benefit.

"What we're trying to do now is get Honiton up and running, so we're looking for volunteers in the area."

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, the next Volunteer Preparation Course will be running on Tuesday, June 11 at Awliscombe Village Hall from 9.30-2.30pm.

For more information about Home-Start click the red button below.