home-start canterbury & coastal
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how we help

 

If you are a parent or a carer (with at least one child under 5) and you are finding things tough for any reason, you might find Home-Start support helpful.

We support families facing a variety of problems including:

  Loneliness
 
Isolation
 
Post-natal depression
 
Disabilities or ill health
 
Multiple births
 
Relationship difficulties
 
Bereavement
 
Domestic violence

In other words - anyone with at least one child under 5, who is experiencing difficulties, can ask Home-Start for help.

Home-Start Canterbury & Coastal helps families in the Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and Faversham areas of East Kent.  If you live in another part of the country then you can find the address of your local Home-Start scheme from the Home-Start UK website.

How can Home-Start help?
 

 

Home-Start volunteers visit families regularly in their own homes.  The visits are usually once a week but this can be flexible.  The volunteer and the family decide together when to meet and how the time will be spent.

Sometimes a parent may want someone to listen, someone to talk to - or even someone to share an adult conversation!  At another time they may need more practical help with the shopping or playing with the children.

  As well as home visiting, Home-Start organises a number of family groups in the area.  These informal groups are a meeting place for families with children under 5.  They are an opportunity to socialise, relax and make new friends.