Saving Homestart Milton Keynes
Homestart Milton Keynes is a volunteer based service currently receiving core funding from Milton Keynes Council.From April 1st 2012 the Council have decided to stop this funding, meaning that Homestart will have to cease. Homestart support families, be it with one or two parents, who have children under five who are experiencing problems. Volunteers are mentors and often become good friends. Volunteers visit the family one a week for approx 3 hours, it is surprising how much you can achieve in three hours. Some young Mums do not have the support of their own families. It may only be somebody trustworthy to sit with the children while they take a bath in comfort. Advice on cooking and nutrition,loneliness/isolation, depression, medical and emotional issues. It is not an enormous amount that we need we are not asking for millions, please help me persuade the Council, with this petition.
Many thanks in advance. Jenny Jones.
547 signatures
Sign the Petition
Signatures
| 547 | Cally Reader |
| 546 | Becky Devlin |
| 545 | Tina Stockwell |
| 544 | Julie Braithwaite |
| 543 | shirley mutchell |
| 542 | Pete Downing |
| 541 | Marie Harvey |
| 540 | Lindsey Claire barwick |
| 539 | CHRISTINE COOK |
| 538 | Sue Richards |
| 537 | mandy pateman |
| 536 | p haslam |
| 535 | Jill White |
| 534 | gemma williams |
| 533 | Angela newman-Lander |
| 532 | jignasha kansagra |
| 531 | Paul Lay |
| 530 | Kate Nickels |
| 529 | Dianne Stewart |
| 528 | Rozalia Sherwood |
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Comments
A very short-sighted decision which goes against all current Government legislation on building cohesive communities.
We use Homestart because we have Twins and we wanted to take our babies swimming, which is almost impossible with one adult, we now have a wonderful volunteer who helps us to swim with the babes. From this, we were able to attend a twins support group organised by Homestart, which was also a valuable service which was cancelled. The support we recieve from both these services has been invaluable and a huge benefit to our children, who love both activities. We would never have been able to do this without this amazing help and support.
Homestart is doing what the government has been trying to encourage - having the community help the community. The local decision to close it doesn't fit with any of the current government drives and initiatives that I've heard about: a full review is imperative.
500! Thank you everyone! people are still trying to sign but it won't seem to accept more than 500¬
I can't believe how short sighted this decision is. We know that early intervention is crucial. A little money spent wisely on keeping Homestart active now could make a huge difference to the life chances and outcomes for children in families being supported so ably by wonderful volunteers. Please rethink this decision.
For many years I was the lead officer in the Council for Home-Start until my retirement last year. As a front line social worker in Children's Services, I was acutely aware of the valuable service provided by Home-Start over the years, which fitted in well with the preventative support services which MK Council has been so keen to promote. It is ludicrous to say that the same service can be provided by children's centres. While there are a few 'flag ship' children's centres in MK, there are many that do not have the time, skill, confidence or staffing to provide that vital first contact and regular home visiting service to vulnerable families throughout the city. It is visiting in the home that is important - the one-to- one interaction. Many parents find it too daunting to attend a children's centre and many centres only seem to attract the 'worried well' rather than the hard those reach families in need of support.
Through hard work, Home-Start attract many volunteers who are carefully screened and well trained. I met many through facilitating the child safeguarding and protection element of their training package. Volunteers give of their services FREE - at no cost to the Council. The grant only covers the very minimal of staff and running costs. The Trustees (again unpaid) give a lot of their time to seek additional sums of money for other projects but it is not ongoing financial support.
It is beyond belief that the Council is so short sighted as to close a valuable and much needed resource in the City, a City with the highest child population (except one) in Europe.
Home-Start provide excellent value for money and have a well established scheme in MK. There must be some other 'dead wood' in the Council that could be cut before throwing out the baby with the bath water.
When I worked in social care the top-down mantra was that we must do more 'preventative work' - probably because prevention is cheaper than cure. Well, Homestart is exceptionally good value, so let's see the Council supporting it, rather than waiting for situations to spiral, causing everyone involved far more stress.
I am a town councillor for Stony Stratford and I think it is shocking that they are even thinking of closing this very neccessary resource. The people who use this service only do so because they need to, just to give them a break now and again from what can sometimes be very stressful lives, it is a case of having nowhere else to turn to and it is a life saver for some. I am aware that we are in a recession but cutting all childrens services like home start and local nurseries is not the answer, we need to be helping these people not cutting off their air supply. Save money by not attending conferences and staying in expensive hotels at the local tax payers expense, I know where I would rather see my money spent .....
As a Registered Midwife I know the importance of Homestart. With the reduction in NHS midwifery and health visiting services Homestart provides an increasingly valuable service.
Please support this Home Start online petition. I strongly believe the work carried out by Home Start and other local charities supporting families in Milton Keynes will become more & more improtant in the years to come. In the past days there have been three robberies in MK involving threats with a weapon (one person seriously injured and hospitalised), an arson attack and a bomb hoax. Good citizens are the product of good families, good schools and a community that respects & helps the individual where necessary. Helping families that otherwise may struggle is surely a way to avoid the disfunctional and anti-social behaviour that is all too common. As economic and political pressures increase on our society I can only see moves that reduce or remove crucial social services, like that Home Start provides, being an error we will live to regret. If you identify with my opinion at all, PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION.