In this blog, mum of three, Anna shares why she wanted to volunteer with Home-Start Bradford District and how the role has helped her into teaching thanks to the confidence and skills that she has gained.
Anna’s story
My youngest child has additional needs and when he was young, I felt the benefit of all the support that I had around me, as I was lucky enough to have lots of friends that were there for me. However, it did make me think of those that don’t have that type of support – gosh what must they do?
I had picked up a flyer about volunteering with Home-Start Bradford District when I was dropping my children off at pre-school, but at that time I didn’t have the time to volunteer. When a more suitable time in my life came up, I Googled about becoming a Home-Start Bradford District volunteer, applied for the role and was accepted for the preparation course. When I first approached Home-Start Bradford District, I hadn’t worked for four to five years and I was so nervous about my interview – I didn’t feel I had much to offer!
I attended the Volunteer Preparation Course, which started before lockdown. It was really enjoyable, and I got to meet people from different backgrounds and experiences. The course has a good mix of practical exercises and discussion and challenged your way of thinking. I also learned to appreciate that everyone has a different perspective when it comes to values around religion, family, education, etc and that everyone comes from a different place in their thinking.
Once you do the course you feel more confident about the role that you will be doing – everyone has got the ability to help others. Becoming a volunteer and doing the course gave me the confidence to apply to do a teaching assistant course, which has now led to a paid role as a teaching assistant.
I would really encourage people to think about volunteering as you are giving back to someone in need. You are also learning a lot of different skills like financial issues, mental health, safeguarding and this has been very useful for me going forward.
The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown had started when I finished the volunteer preparation course, so all of my support for families was over the telephone. I supported four families in total. One mum that I was offering emotional support to said that ‘she had felt a lot better after speaking to me and it was a relief to get things off her chest’ – when someone says that to you, you realise you are making a difference.
There are many families out there with different and challenging circumstances. If they are having a difficult time, then Home-Start Bradford District volunteer support is a really good way to get support from someone who has brought up their own family and can support them with their experiences.
Supporting Home-Start Bradford volunteers
Before our volunteer recruits are ready to support a family, they are required to complete a Volunteer Preparation Course, which arms them with the skills, knowledge, mechanisms and techniques to support our families.
There are a wide range of topics that are covered including safeguarding, values and attitudes, communication, supporting parents and meeting the needs of parents, confidentiality and the importance of how diary sheets are completed.
Our volunteers have access to ongoing training opportunities to develop and improve their skills during their volunteering journey with us.
To find out more about what it takes to become a Home-Start Bradford District Volunteer, read here.
