Home Start Malta, which was launched in April last year, is a service that is supported by Agenzija Appogg, in collaboration with Home Start International, and sponsored by the HSBC Cares for Children Fund and Vodafone Malta Foundation.

Home Start originated in the UK in 1973 when professionals working with families of young children started to realise and understand the importance of supporting parents in the upbringing of their children. There were many families with young children facing crisis situations, resulting in the children being removed from their families. It was felt that support for parents, especially during the child’s early years, was so vital that it would reduce the chances of family crisis and break-up and thus keep children at home. Built on this principle, over 330 schemes have developed in the UK.

Growing interest in this service led to the development of Home Start International, and there are now over 100 schemes in around 20 different countries, including Australia, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Sri Lanka and Kenya. Home Start recruits and prepares volunteers to support families with young children.

Home Start Malta – the beginning

Initial contact between Home Start International and Malta began when Agenzija Appogg CEO Joe Gerada met Tanya Barron, then the chairperson of Home Start International. The service, run with the help of volunteers and targeting families with young children, attracted the agency to the extent that it undertook the task of setting up the service here in Malta. Contacts with Home Start International were strengthened, with personnel from Appogg visiting the UK for more information and training on the service. To date, Home Start International gives its constant support to the Maltese Home Start team.

In 2005, Home Start Malta became more of a reality when, in September, the Home Start steering committee (which was later to become the Home Start management committee) was set up and an organiser was recruited to set the ball rolling. Immediately, the service was promoted through formal and informal meetings in the community, and a campaign was launched to recruit volunteers, with the first group of 10 volunteers taking up the preparation course.

Since Agenzija Appogg has a community service already established in Cottonera, it was decided to offer the service to the residents of this area. The idea is to offer families a more holistic service, because Home Start complements other services that support families in the community. Since then, the service has been extended to Zabbar and there are plans to extend it to residents of Fgura and Zejtun as well. It is also hoped that the service will continue extending to other parts of Malta.

Home Start Families

Home Start offers support to families who have at least one child under the age of five. All parents know that those early years are vital in a child’s development and that children thrive in a secure and happy environment. Home Start believes that parents are the key to creating that secure childhood. This is why Home Start offers support to parents – to give them the strength to be better parents to their children.

Children at a young age offer many challenges and it is very easy for parents to feel overwhelmed, especially if they do not have any support. Having other difficulties, like illness, multiple birth, post-natal depression, disability or isolation, or a lack of skills or means to provide good care for infants and children, aggravates the situation and the family may easily find themselves in a crisis.

It is at this time when Home Start can come in to offer support.

There is no such thing as a “typical” Home Start family – any family with a young child or children may need support. Situations affect people differently and parents cope in different ways. The important thing is that the parents acknowledge that they have difficulties and request the help themselves.

A service user of Home Start Malta said: “I feel I have a true friend. She came at a time when I was doubting my capabilities as a mother. She has given me the courage to cope with my family”. Feedback from another young parent says: “Thanks to her, now I go out more and mix with others within the community. It is an added bonus that the rest of the family members feel comfortable with her. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

Home Start volunteers

Home Start volunteers are parents themselves who support other parents. They come from all walks of life – from young mothers who help other young mums and parents whose children have just started school to “empty-nesters” and grandparents.

The only real “qualification” to become a volunteer is that of parenting – either being a parent or having parenting experience, perhaps as a step-parent or carer for siblings. Friendliness and a caring attitude are indispensable, since this service is based on the relationship built between the family and the volunteer.

Once selected through interviews, volunteers attend a 40-hour preparation course before visiting families. The course offers training on issues pertaining to childcare, but also helps the participants with self-awareness of their helping skills and sensitivity towards other people’s needs and feelings. Each volunteer receives regular individual supervision to monitor the work and discuss any issues that may arise. Apart from the individual supervision, a support group is held once a month where the volunteers have the opportunity to meet each other, share experiences (while maintaining confidentiality) and receive regular training. Volunteers are never left in the deep end. Whenever they feel the need, they can always contact the Home Start organiser for support.

One of the Home-Start volunteers said: “Being a Home Start volunteer is an extremely positive experience. The most obvious reward is the sense of helping people. Although at times a situation can be rather emotionally draining, there are moments when a child you are visiting tells you that he loves you, or the mother says she doesn’t know how she could manage without you... it feels wonderful. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to build a relationship with a family and watch the relationship develop.”

How does Home Start work?

Home Start is firmly based on the principle of choice. Volunteers choose to work with Home Start for as long as they wish. It is important, however, that volunteers show commitment towards the families that they are supporting and agree with Home Start from the outset on how much time they can give. When volunteers leave without a proper termination with the family, it is quite devastating for the families and children, especially because they often think that they are to blame for the volunteer’s departure.

The families themselves have the genuine choice of whether or not they wish to accept a Home Start volunteer into their home.

One of the things that makes Home Start a special service is that it is offered on a voluntary basis through other parents who understand the hardships and joys of bringing up young children.

They build a friendly and supportive relationship with the parents, showing their understanding of the difficulties through which the family is going. Parents feel more supported when they know that the volunteer is concerned and understanding towards them and thus feel better about being a parent and make the children happier. Volunteers share their humanity and their knowledge as an informal source of information, until the parents are coping and even enjoying life again. They lend their strengths, until a family finds its own.

Call for volunteers

Agenzija Appogg is encouraging people to be part of Home Start Malta by being volunteers and also encourages families who feel they can benefit from this service to approach the agency. Home Start Malta is in the process of recruiting new volunteers. Once selected, volunteers will start a 40-hour preparation course.

The next course will start in April. Anyone who feels they can use their free time and their parenting experience to share with others is welcome to contact the Home Start organiser on 2167-8043, 9901-8398 or visit the Appogg website www.appogg.gov.mt by not later than 31 March.

Article provided by The Foundation for Social Welfare Services