Funding cuts are forcing our family-support service to close. But we are proud of the work we did over the past 12 years
'I can leave in the knowledge that we have helped hundreds of children.' Photograph: picturesbyrob / Alamy
Home-Start Bromley's battle to find funding to support families continues. A few months ago, I wrote about the impossible situation we found ourselves in, trying to raise money to support local parents and children – and now I think it is time for an update.
It has been hard to gather my thoughts in order to make this article of interest to anybody other than those who have had a stake in the organisation, but then I remembered that ours is not the only voluntary agency that has found it difficult to survive – the problems we face are universal. I set up this project 12 years ago, starting with an empty office on a local housing estate with no computer, no staff, no volunteers, no families, and professionals working within the voluntary and statutory sectors who had no clue as to the service we were about to offer. I can say with confidence that today, these colleagues, as well as those families who received support, have seen and felt the success of the early intervention family support service that we have provided.
However, today I am once again sitting in an empty office with no computers, no staff, no volunteers and no families – just an old laptop on which I am typing these words to announce that Home-Start Bromley has closed down, owing to lack of sufficient funds. When we first opened in 1999, one of our key aims was to bridge the gap that existed for families who did not reach the thresholds for social care intervention but needed preventative and early support. The question is: what will now happen to these families now? Experience shows that over the years this gap has only become wider.
Our volunteers were unique in that they would visit a family every week, providing emotional and practical help within the home. This was a non-intrusive, informal approach that kept the parents firmly in control of their situation – it was about "doing with" and not "doing to". My volunteers have been privileged to be allowed into families homes and felt tangible rewards for seeing parents help themselves out of difficult situations. This truly has been a service where parents and grandparents from within the local community have supported others facing a crisis or difficult time – the "big society" idea at its best. It's just a shame that we didn't have a big voice to go with the big idea.
Since I wrote my last article, we have applied to many trusts, written to councillors, local MPs (who did their best to fight our corner), and we had an offer from a trust fund – although it was not enough to keep us financially viable. For the last year we have been surviving on short-term funding, which has prevented long-term plans; we were so insecure that staff have been made redundant, and then had their redundancy cancelled when more funding was secured. It felt as if we were in limbo, striving to deliver a gold-star service under the most difficult of circumstances.
The commitment, drive, dedication and loyalty of our fantastic team of staff and volunteers were what really kept us afloat. I have had 12 wonderful years in a job that I loved, and can leave in the knowledge that we have helped hundreds of children and parents; most likely prevented some children from entering the care system; financially benefited the social and healthcare systems by helping to prevent mental health issues spiralling downwards; played a major role in safeguarding children; kept parents from feeling alone and isolated and, most importantly, providing a listening ear and a friend who would stand by them. We could not go out feeling better than that.
Thanks to everyone who has been part of Home-Start Bromley (1999-2011).
It has been hard to gather my thoughts in order to make this article of interest to anybody other than those who have had a stake in the organisation, but then I remembered that ours is not the only voluntary agency that has found it difficult to survive – the problems we face are universal. I set up this project 12 years ago, starting with an empty office on a local housing estate with no computer, no staff, no volunteers, no families, and professionals working within the voluntary and statutory sectors who had no clue as to the service we were about to offer. I can say with confidence that today, these colleagues, as well as those families who received support, have seen and felt the success of the early intervention family support service that we have provided.
However, today I am once again sitting in an empty office with no computers, no staff, no volunteers and no families – just an old laptop on which I am typing these words to announce that Home-Start Bromley has closed down, owing to lack of sufficient funds. When we first opened in 1999, one of our key aims was to bridge the gap that existed for families who did not reach the thresholds for social care intervention but needed preventative and early support. The question is: what will now happen to these families now? Experience shows that over the years this gap has only become wider.
Our volunteers were unique in that they would visit a family every week, providing emotional and practical help within the home. This was a non-intrusive, informal approach that kept the parents firmly in control of their situation – it was about "doing with" and not "doing to". My volunteers have been privileged to be allowed into families homes and felt tangible rewards for seeing parents help themselves out of difficult situations. This truly has been a service where parents and grandparents from within the local community have supported others facing a crisis or difficult time – the "big society" idea at its best. It's just a shame that we didn't have a big voice to go with the big idea.
Since I wrote my last article, we have applied to many trusts, written to councillors, local MPs (who did their best to fight our corner), and we had an offer from a trust fund – although it was not enough to keep us financially viable. For the last year we have been surviving on short-term funding, which has prevented long-term plans; we were so insecure that staff have been made redundant, and then had their redundancy cancelled when more funding was secured. It felt as if we were in limbo, striving to deliver a gold-star service under the most difficult of circumstances.
The commitment, drive, dedication and loyalty of our fantastic team of staff and volunteers were what really kept us afloat. I have had 12 wonderful years in a job that I loved, and can leave in the knowledge that we have helped hundreds of children and parents; most likely prevented some children from entering the care system; financially benefited the social and healthcare systems by helping to prevent mental health issues spiralling downwards; played a major role in safeguarding children; kept parents from feeling alone and isolated and, most importantly, providing a listening ear and a friend who would stand by them. We could not go out feeling better than that.
Thanks to everyone who has been part of Home-Start Bromley (1999-2011).
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