Home-Start Arun, Worthing & Adur need help to create brighter futures for local children

Despite West Sussex being considered an affluent county, there are still many children living in poverty, with areas of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton in the poorest neighbourhoods in England.

The End Child Poverty Coalition and the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University published a report earlier this year that found over 18,000 children across Arun, Worthing & Adur were living in relative poverty after housing costs, over 27% of local children. The continued cost of living crisis is making it harder than ever for some parents to cope.

The emotional and psychological cost for children experiencing hardship, tragedy and neglect is immense and can last a lifetime. Support and intervention for families before reaching crisis and breaking point is key.

Home-Start Arun, Worthing & Adur is a community-run service of local parents, grandparents and professionals using lived experience to make life easier for families.

For more than 24 years they have been giving compassionate, confidential, practical and emotional weekly support to parents in their homes, over the phone, at a family group or in the community. They also run an in-house counselling service. All services are completely free of charge and open to anyone who has at least one child under the age of five years.

Home-Start recently launched their Impact Report for 2023/24 “Creating Brighter Futures for 330 Local Children”. In 2023/24 157 families were supported along the south coast between Pagham and Southwick. Of those;

• 25% lived in the top 30% most deprived areas of England,
• 24% lived in entirely inadequate housing
• 46% were experiencing financial difficulties.
• 87% were living with a mental health condition
• 56% had at least one family member with a physical health condition.
• 17% experienced domestic abuse.

A local dad received counselling from Home-Start explains: “I was at rock bottom. I thought my life was over and wanted it to end. If it wasn’t for Home-Start I’m quite sure my children would not have a father today. They really helped me turn myself around. Support free of charge was the most important thing. My Employee Assistance Programme at work only offered a few sessions, I couldn't afford counselling myself and the wait for Time to Talk via my GP would have come too late.”

In 2023/24, at the end of Home-Start support;

• 94% of families said they were better at managing their children’s behaviour
• 92% felt more involved in their development and early learning
• 86% said they were better at managing the household budget
• 96% better used other support services.
• 88% said there was an improvement in their self–esteem
• 95% felt less isolated.

Says a local Health Visitor: “Home-Start is invaluable in supporting local families and children with a range of issues from child development, mental health, isolation, financial issues and a long list of others. Without their expertise, knowledge and compassion many families would be in dire situations. I cannot impress enough how needed Home-Start is, now and always.”

But the charity really needs help – their volunteer numbers simply cannot keep pace with the demand for their services. If you have experience as a parent, grandparent or working with children and can spare 2-3 hours a week after a short initial training programme, contact [email protected] for an informal chat.

Says Bridget Richardson, CEO at the helm of the charity for over 16 years:“Volunteering can be the key to remaining happy, healthy and confident and can open new opportunities such as a return to education or employment. But not least, our volunteers make such an enormous difference to the lives of local children - our families often call our volunteers their ‘lifeline’.”

To read more about the work of Home-Start in the local community, how you might get involved and download their Impact Report, go to their website www.home-startawa.org.uk. And if you are a parent in need of support, or perhaps just need to clear your head – Home-Start is here for you – call 01903 953799.