What is the vision of your organisation?
Home-Start Epsom, Ewell & Banstead wants to see a society in which every parent has the support they need to give their children the best possible start in life. We work with families with at least one child under eleven in the Boroughs of Epsom & Ewell, Banstead wards north of the M25, and Mole Valley north of Dorking, where families have a need and would benefit from weekly volunteer support or group support.
Why has your organisation signed the ‘End Poverty Pledge’?
Parenting can be challenging and stressful for any family but being in financial hardship and having to worry about basic provisions can make this a more complex situation. We help families at all stages and in all situations, but if we can do anything to even the playing field, we will. We are an organisation committed to doing what we can to support families in financial hardship and to alleviate some of the additional pressure that they may experience.
What examples can you give of your organisation putting the ‘End Poverty Pledge’ into practice?
- We have a relationship with COOK in Banstead who donate 8 portions of homecooked meals each week for families who are most in need.
- We ensure that all our staff and volunteers are trained in signposting to relevant services in the local area to ensure that families are receiving all the advice and support they need, such as the Hygiene Bank, Stripey Stork, BESOM, Dreams for Hope, Citizens Advice, CAP and Foodbank.
- We provide free activities and outings for families during school holidays, such as to local farms and cinemas.
- Through a relationship with Southern Gas Network, we provide energy advice and packs for our families to help them to reduce energy costs and improve their housing situation, such as insulation, thermometers, carbon monoxide alarms and damp-proofing kits.
- A local school donates their Harvest collection to us, in order to provide emergency food provisions to our families most in need.
- We have relationships with local organisations who donate nappies and other hygiene items to us throughout the year to distribute to families.
- All of our services are offered at no cost to parents. In addition to our 1:1 volunteer visiting service offered in the family home, we also run free parenting courses in schools, drop-in parenting groups and referral only intensive groups to support families, ensuring there are no financial barriers to attending.
- Some of our volunteers are able to help with form-filling for families where English is not their first language or take families to Advice cafes, in order to access advice and support that they need but may not have the confidence to attend on their own.
- We have referred families to the Family Holiday charity where they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to have a break.
What would you hope to be able to do more of in the longer term?
- We will continue to collaborate with charities and statutory organisations to ensure that our families are receiving the advice and support that they need, whether this be through the Advice cafes or via ReferSurrey (online referral system) or direct referrals.
- We would like to utilise some of the End Poverty Pledge resources, such as delivering the Poverty Awareness training with our volunteers, to ensure that we are supporting our families in the best way possible.
- We would like to continue or expand support to our families to ensure they are able to access benefits and support, such as through form-filling, attending Advice cafes alongside them, signposting to budgeting support.