Charity helping needy families may close after funding halted

A CHARITY which supports struggling families in an area of the region with among the highest levels of deprivation in the country could be forced to close its doors after losing local authority funding support.

The charity Home Start Bridlington and Driffield has worked with more than 300 families over the past 12 years, but could close in the spring, when £57,000 funding from East Riding Council ends.

Local health visitors say without the charity, which works with families with children aged under five, “many local needs will go unmet.”

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The charity gets referrals from childrens centres and social workers and provides support to families with problems ranging from addiction to drugs or alcohol, mental health and isolation.

Unlike other nine-to-five services it offers round-the-clock care, with volunteers able to visit during evenings, weekends and school holidays.

Andrea Riby, 31, is one of the many parents the charity has helped and says without them she “wouldn’t be here.” Mrs Riby, who lives in Bridlington with her husband Peter, had a breakdown following the birth of their fourth child and started drinking heavily. She completed a rehabilitation programme in Sunderland in October.

She said: “I didn’t realise I was getting quite dependent on alcohol; Home Start stepped in to help with a lot of support between me and my husband and the kids.”

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She said her volunteer had been there “every step of the way”: “She became like a very good friend. She was texting me asking how I was when I was in Sunderland, coming to see me when I was at home and keeping in touch with me and Peter. I don’t think we would have got through this without Home Start and I will be grateful to them for the rest of my life. It would be an absolute shame if they couldn’t carry on.”

A letter signed by the Bridlington Health Visitor and Nursery Nurse Team said its closure would “most significantly impact” on children living in vulnerable families in an area containing wards with levels of deprivation, among the highest in the country.

The charity has been looking for other sources of funding after the council gave notice that the funding would cease at the end of the financial year. However senior coordinator Nicky Wordsworth said bids they had made had yet to produce results, although donations from local sources could keep the charity going for another month beyond the deadline. She said: “We had some very kind donations from the Lions, the Rotary Club and the Townswomen’s Guild.

“The East Riding did give us six months notice, which was good of them, but nothing similar has come off the larger funding bids we are writing. “Our experience is working with families not writing bids.”

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She added: “Obviously the council have a budget line which they have to reduce and we are a line in the budget, but if you look at what social workers are paid I imagine we are a much more cost-effective service.”

Of the children, 67 per cent are on the child protection register and the charity, which employs just three part-time workers, is currently supporting 27 families. It has 20 volunteers who undertake a 40-hour preparatory course.

Home Start is the largest UK charity supporting familes, but each individual branch is an individual charity and raises its own funding.

Pam Allen, head of the East Riding Council’s children and young people’s support and safeguarding service, said: “As with all local authorities, we are reviewing all our services and need to prioritise. We have difficult decisions to make based on our resources available.

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“This is not a reflection on the service that has been delivered but with our own children’s centres going from strength to strength and outreach work developing, we are able to reach more families.”

Anyone who can help can ring the charity on 01262 605020.