Katharine Barber's Contact Details

Katharine Barber's Company Details

HOME-START OXFORD

Oxford, England, United Kingdom • 4 Employees
Individual & Family Services

At Home-Start, we want to see a society in which every parent has the support they need to give their children the best possible start in life. Home-Start Oxford proudly celebrated 30 years of service in 2018. We work from an office base in Blackbird Leys, and have a passionate team of 10 staff, 10 Trustees and over 40 volunteers. We cover Oxford city and the west and centre of the county, including Witney, Carterton, Kidlington and Woodstock. We are part of a network of over 200 local Home-Start charities, that together form the largest volunteer family support movement in the UK. Bringing up young children is hard at the best of times. Every child deserves a good start, and any parent can need support. Home-Start typically supports families facing extra challenges such as illness, disability, poverty and debt, isolation, multiple birth, mental health difficulties, or the after effects of an abusive relationship. We recruit and train volunteers, and employ a Family Support Worker, to make weekly visits to a family in their home. Our volunteers are parents themselves, and help parents deal with whatever life throws at them. Our support is focused on families with children under 5, offering early help so that it can have a lasting impact. Each family chooses help from Home-Start – it is never imposed. Parents may self-refer, or be introduced by a professional like a health visitor or social worker. We are committed to the core values of the Home-Start movement, and maintaining the home-based service which parents and referrers tell us is so valuable. In addition we have developed particular expertise and partnership projects to support early education, victims of domestic abuse, and parents with mental health needs.