£6k boost for Gosport & Fareham charity

Chief Correspondent Rob Thomas finds out how the money will be spent…

THE Home-Start Gosport & Fareham group is to receive a £6,000 grant from Hampshire County Council to support families in need especially after the pandemic lockdowns.

The charity has trained volunteers – supervised by professionals – who support children and their parents when they are struggling with complex and varied challenges.

‘We are currently supporting about 30 families

across Gosport and Fareham’

The Chief Executive of Home-Start Hampshire, Mo Tutty, told The Globe: “We provide volunteers to support in the family home in whatever areas are identified.

“We are currently supporting about 30 families across Gosport and Fareham and we have about 20 support volunteers.”

And he is in no doubt about the impact of the lockdowns on families: “There is a lot of need in Gosport and Fareham with an increase in deprivation. And we are seeing, coming out of Covid, an increased need.”

So, he is pleased to have the extra funding from the county council which will, “fund the core activities that we do with families.”

‘We have a desperate, urgent need for more volunteers

in the Gosport and Fareham area’

As well as the visits to family homes, the charity has started an activities group in the Bridgemary area of Gosport.

Faced with the increased, post-pandemic need, Mr Tutty said: “We have a desperate, urgent need for more volunteers in the Gosport and Fareham area, and we are running a training course in September.”

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact the charity by emailing: info@hshants.org.uk

Home-Start Gosport & Fareham’s £6,000 grant is one of 24 projects selected across the county to help vulnerable families and the total funding of £200,000 is coming from Hampshire County Council’s Supporting Families Programme.

There is real concern locally and nationally about the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns on families.

Approving the allocation of the grants, the county council’s Executive Member for Performance, Human Resources and Partnerships, Councillor Stephen Reid, said: “We know some parts of the county have been particularly impacted by the pandemic”.

And Peter Grigg, Chief Executive of Home-Start UK, recently said: “The pandemic has magnified challenges for parents and children and lockdowns have created so much additional pressure. It means supporting families is more crucial than ever.”

 

Image (above): Home-Start Hampshire’s logo. Reproduced with permission.