£20,000 For Essex Family Support Charity

Home-Start Essex, a family support charity based in Essex has recently received £20,000 of community funding from the health and social care organisation Provide Community. Home-Start Essex was one of three local charities that received funding from a shared pot of £70,000

Home-Start Essex, a family support and advice charity based in Chelmsford, has recently received a community grant of £20,000 from the social enterprise Provide Community. Working alongside families across Mid, South, and West Essex, the charity delivers preventive care to parents struggling with the everyday challenges of family life.

Founded by Margaret Harrison in 1973, Home Start’s holistic approach of providing friendly, informal support from a group of trained volunteers broke fresh ground in UK welfare policy and practice. From a single pilot project in Leicester, Home-Start has expanded into 288 schemes across the UK, collectively supporting more than 33,000 families and 70,000 children across the country.

CEO of Home-Start Essex, Nic O’Brien, said: “Referrals into Home-Start Essex have risen dramatically over the past year, with parents and children facing multiple difficulties as they adjust to life after the lockdowns.

“These difficulties include anxiety and stress, loneliness and isolation, and increasing financial worries, many of which have been bought about by the cost-of-living crisis. Our volunteers and staff have supported over 800 families this year. The donation from Provide Community will help us to continue delivering this much-needed support to families with young children who are struggling with the challenges they are facing.”

The charity offers a range of support services for families experiencing isolation, low self-esteem, and other mental health issues. Support services include informal home visits and practical help from trained volunteers, telephone support, family groups for meeting other parents and therapeutic well-being programmes for parents experiencing mental health difficulties.

Chair of Governors at Provide Community, Nicola Yarnall, commented: “As the Chair of Governors I am delighted that we are able to support charities such as Home Start Essex and enable them to continue delivering crucial support to families across Essex.

“As an organisation, we are committed to supporting the essential work delivered by charities and community groups in the communities we serve that make a positive difference to people’s lives every day.”