Easter Ross charity seeks volunteers to help deliver family support
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A charity providing support for families across Easter Ross and beyond is looking for volunteers to help it deliver its latest project.
Home-Start East Highland is expanding its operations through the Highlands with its Perinatal Infant Mental Health (PNIMH) scheme.
The project supports the welfare of women throughout pregnancy and the first two to three years of a child’s life, providing practical parenting support and improving mental wellbeing and infant outcomes.
The Invergordon-based charity gives confidential tailored support to help combat isolation and loneliness and assist with the likes of budgeting and healthy eating and the emotional and physical demands of having a baby and/ or young children.
Volunteers offer support, friendship and practical help to families under stress in their own homes, to prevent family crisis and breakdown.
With the backing of Scottish Government cash, Leanne Jack, Home-Start East Highland senior co-ordinator, said: “We are using this fund to secure our service throughout the Highland mainland area and to enhance our family support – including a focus on dads and infant mental health – as well as to make further development for digital and remote support.
"There is no rulebook for raising a family and sometimes it can be challenging, particularly if a family is going through difficult times.
"Home-Start East Highland will also provide specialist training for more of our staff and volunteers, allowing us the opportunity to be there when families need us most."
She added: “We have been raising awareness and establishing support through Sutherland, Easter Ross, Mid Ross, Wester Ross, Inverness and Nairnshire, Lochaber and Badenoch and Strathspey and continuing to provide our peer support groups in Dingwall, Alness, Milton and Inverness and building on this in being able to provide further peer support groups in Brora, Kyle of Lochalsh and Ardersier.
"Staff members have recently completed their baby massage training, and six-week sessions are now offered to families in both Ross-shire and Inverness-shire.
"We are currently in the process of recruiting and training volunteers, through the Highland mainland area who are usually parents themselves or have experience of working with young children in a professional/carer capacity, all of whom will be given specialist training and need only offer as little as two hours or so of their time a week."
Anyone interested should ring Home-Start East Highland on 01349 854018 or email volunteer@home-starteasthighland.org.uk
